Lee Dixon urges two Arsenal stars to ‘have a big chat’ after Newcastle performance – it’s ‘unusual’

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Arsenal returned to action in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, welcoming Newcastle United to the Emirates.

The Gunners are hungry for silverware, with the EFL Cup providing the first sight of such as we embark on the semi-finals.

Arsenal have Newcastle to overcome over two legs in order to book their spot at Wembley, with a tough second leg coming next month at St James’ Park.

At the Emirates, the objective was clear however, it quickly became apparent just how badly the Magpies wanted to make their mark in the tie.

• READ MORE: EFL Cup semi-final rules every Arsenal fan needs to know for Newcastle clash including VAR and referee calls

Lee Dixon surprised by Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba

Mikel Arteta named his squad to face Newcastle following Arsenal’s draw with Brighton, making four changes to the team at the Amex.

While the changes in attack earned the headlines, seeing Kai Havertz return from illness, it was the elements that didn’t change that caused the Gunners issues.

Difficulty came from the most unlikely source, as Arsenal target Alexander Isak toyed with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes early on.

The duo, who are arguably Arteta’s most important pairing in the Arsenal squad, were left spellbound by the Swede in the first half, something that club icon Lee Dixon noticed.

Commentating in ITV’s coverage of the fixture, Dixon expressed his concern about the ‘usually telepathic’ duo.

“It’s unusual for those two, they’re usually telepathic,” he said, before prompting the centre-backs to sort themselves out.

“Those two centre backs need to have a big chat. Saliba drops off, it’s too late because Gabriel has stepped up. Isak has the measure of the two centre-backs at Arsenal.”

Dixon went on to admit that he wasn’t sure ‘what’s going on’ with the Frenchman and the Brazilian, who had an uncharacteristic spell in the opening half of the first-leg.

Saliba and Gabriel have an impressive Arsenal record

Dixon was rather surprised by what he saw, which says a lot about the near-perfect standard the duo have set over the years.

Since Saliba’s introduction to the squad in 2022/23, the Frenchman has fused his strengths with Gabriel’s to become the spine of Arsenal’s growth. 

The numbers only emphasis such, as when playing together on the pitch, Gabriel and Saliba average a monstrous 2.16 points per game, which is an applaudable average over 101 games. 

Against the Magpies, the pair were torn apart in spells by Isak, who is one of the best around right now and a player that the Arsenal pair should study even closer.