‘Flustered’ – Lee Dixon makes surprising claim about Arsenal star duo during Man United win
Lee Dixon has claimed that Arsenal’s star centre-backs Gabriel and William Saliba looked ‘flustered’ during their win away at Manchester United.
The Gunners opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday despite a performance that was not always the most convincing.
Arsenal’s goal came from the head of Riccardo Calafiori in the 13th minute, with the defender nodding in Declan Rice’s corner on the line after Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayandir made a horrendous blunder from the England international’s delivery.
The match saw Arsenal’s new summer signings Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi make their Premier League debuts, while Noni Madueke featured from the bench in the second half.
However, it was Arsenal’s experienced defensive pair who caught Dixon’s eye and the ex-Gunners defender issued a surprise claim about their respective performances.
Saliba and Gabriel come under the microscope
Arsenal’s backline was threatened by a United side that showed a renewed attacking exuberance after their first full summer training camp under head coach Ruben Amorim, who is still looking to instil his 3-4-2-1 style on this side.
It was the attacking play of their new duo, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha that caused problems for Arsenal’s defenders and Dixon, speaking to BBC 5 Live (18 August), responded when being asked whether he felt Gabriel and Saliba looked “flustered”.
“Yeah, they did a little bit, which was surprising but credit goes to United,” Dixon said.
| Games | Goals | Assists |
| 135 | 7 | 2 |
“They started the game really well. Cunha and Mbeumo were making all sorts of problems for the two centre-backs. Especially Calafiori on the left side, Mbeumo’s positions were really causing him problems.”
Dixon went on to add: “We drew too many games last season. Mikel [Arteta] secretly is probably quite pleased with how the game went.
“Mikel was really insightful after the game when he said it was a humble result based on the fact that there were things that weren’t quite right.”
Gyokeres quiet on debut for Arsenal but there’s more to come
Football Insider Verdict
Having joined this summer for £55million plus £8.5m in add-ons (Sky Sports) from Sporting CP, Gyokeres was hoping to hit the ground running for Arsenal on the opening weekend away at Old Trafford.
However, Gyokeres endured an Arsenal debut to forget against Man United, with the Swede failing to make an impact on the game as he adjusts to life in England’s top flight.
The Sweden international arrives with an impressive goalscoring record in Portugal’s top flight, scoring 68 goals in 66 games during his two seasons with Sporting.
He’s no stranger to English football having played youth football for Brighton before featuring for Swansea City and, more notably, Coventry City in the Championship from 2020-2023.
While Gyokeres’ Arsenal debut will be a cause for concern, he faced an imperious Matthias De Ligt and a Manchester United side who were pretty vibrant in front of their home crowd.
Having time to further improve and bed in on the training ground will be a welcome relief for Gyokeres, who is no doubt a goalscorer by trade.