15 April 2023 , 13:00
1044
0
Martin Keown was hardly averse to a flashpoint or two during his career - but even he was never the subject of a police arrest during a match.
That's more than can be said for some of his Arsenal teammates it seems. The early stages of the Arsene Wenger era, distinguishable for revolutionary methods and a rarely seen scientific approach, weren't short on a bit of skullduggery either.
In fact, the Frenchman may have wondered whether is switch to England was wise in October that year after an uninspired 0-0 draw at Highbury against Ron Atkinson's Coventry City at Highfield Road. But that match was a memorable one for Keown and co for the half time action in the tunnel, rather than events on the pitch.
Former Coventry defender Liam Daish alleged in the Coventry Telegraph that Keown was involved after John Hartson and Gary McAllister had a physical altercation, but also said the melee was brief before Hartson was dragged away and tempers thawed. And now the former invincible has responded to the claims, revealing the drama didn't end there.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Keown explained the home players were ushered back into the dressing room when there was a knock on the door: "It was one of those when at half-time, Ken Friar came in and said 'there's a problem. The police want to arrest two Arsenal players'," said Keown.
Mikel Arteta's dream Arsenal line up as last-gasp January transfers are secured
"So the boss (Wenger) said, 'Ken, sort it out, ridiculous.' I think a couple of our players got involved in a few squirms with the Coventry players. I think Ian Wright was involved and McAllister. We ended up with that 'get the kettle on' shout because Wrighty was always in trouble so I came up with this saying where we just got close to him."
Keown was no stranger to a clash on the pitch himself, once famously goading Ruud van Nistelrooy (Getty Images)The fact it's taken 27 years for the incident to come to light is an indictment into how things would go on behind closed doors at clubs and often not come to light. Contrast that with the present day, when such an occurrence would probably be viral on social media before the 90 minutes was up.
But then Keown and Arsenal went on to become embroiled in plenty of spats that simply couldn't be hidden, albeit without the need for police intervention. The pundit himself famously goaded Ruud van Nistelrooy after his missed penalty in a game in the 2003/2004 season, and in the following campaign Arsenal and Manchester United captains Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane had a pre-game altercation that has since gone down in folklore.
Keown, 56, has since insisted he has no regrets over his actions at Old Trafford, claiming it was simulation from the Dutchman that sparked the ugly scenes: "Ray Parlour years later said that I started the Battle of Old Trafford," he said. "I didn’t! I maintain it started when Van Nistelrooy feigned injury, as if Patrick Vieira had kicked him."