Dixon has won four league titles, three FA Cups and a European Cup-Winners’ Cup and will make his 619th appearance for Arsenal today.

He decided to hang up his boots after a discussion with manager Arsene Wenger.

‘‘I hadn’t really made up my mind until Arsene Wenger called me into the office prior to training,’’ Dixon told the Daily Telegraph.

‘‘It was the first time we had spoken about it. At the start of this season I had intimated that this would be my last, but because I was out for the first five-and-a-half months through injury, my original plan was thrown into chaos.

‘‘The fact that I haven’t missed selection in the squad since Christmas kept me going.

‘‘However, the longer the season went on the more I realised I couldn’t continue to play at the highest level for much longer.

‘‘It is too much for my knee and ankle, but I needed someone who I totally respect to tell me it was time to call it a day.

‘‘It needed someone with Arsene’s intelligence and know-how to push me over the edge.’’

George Graham signed Dixon for Arsenal from Stoke for £350,000 in January 1998, and Wenger inherited the right-back along with Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn.

‘‘Arsene was very clear that the defenders he inherited at Arsenal had done well for him, and though it was an emotional decision, I’m relieved my mind has been made up,’’ said Dixon.

‘‘When we won the Double in 1998, I felt I had done well to be a part of the team, but to do it again four years later is the stuff of dreams. What better way to go out than collecting the double trophies at Highbury?’’