'I'm an Arsenal icon and refuse to go on Gary Neville's podcast - it's too Man Utd heavy'
One former Arsenal defender was notorious for clashing with Gary Neville’s Manchester United on the pitch, and that rivalry seems to have followed him into retirement
by Ben Crawford · The MirrorArsenal icon Martin Keown refuses to appear on Gary Neville’s podcast because he feels it is too Manchester United-centric.
Both the hard-hitting Keown and Neville butt heads during their playing careers, as Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils and Arsene Wenger’s Gunners did battle at the Premier League summit. Clashing 16 times in total from 1994 until 2003, Arsenal and Keown were victors slightly more often than not.
The Gunner totted up six wins, five draws and five losses in that time, with the most notable match of all perhaps the 0-0 draw in the 2003 'Invincibles' season dubbed the 'Battle of Old Trafford,' which saw Patrick Vieira sent off and a post-match brawl ensue.
Now, with the pair both pursuing punditry, Keown has shown a reluctance to join his former adversary on his podcast – because it’s far too focused on the defender's beloved United.
Appearing on That Peter Crouch Podcast, Keown was prompted about the historic clashes between Arsenal and United, specifically singling out Dutch winger Marc Overmars, and his ability to embarrass Neville.
"He [Overmars] destroyed Gary Neville, which was always a nice pleasure," Keown stated before unleashing his admission. "Sorry Gary! I'm not on your podcast and I won't be either. It's too Man United driven, sorry!
"He did them a favour when he left - Marc Overmars - because he was incredible. He was so quick it was like 'where did he come from? A great lad off the pitch as well."
While it seems Keown won’t be swapping tales with Neville anytime soon, he did converse with Crouch when asked who, out of old rival Roy Keane and ex-team-mate Patrick Vieira, was the better player.
"It's like ranking siblings," Keown said. "I think without Patrick… he was the link. It was like a ladder to the goal. You'd have to go into Patrick, and they talk about Roy Keane. I'd put him ahead of Roy Keane," Keown admitted. "That's a massive debate, and people can say what they want.
"Listen, this guy had everything. People used to look at him in the tunnel and that 97/98 group were pioneers for how we were going to play. They'd look at him in the tunnel and go 'wow, he's even bigger in real life than on the TV, we can't kick him.'
"I think he reacted too much to a lot of that and then I had to become his minder and got sent off myself against [Paulo] Di Canio. We had lots of battles to keep Patrick there.”
It wasn’t just Vieira who received plaudits from Keown, who also delved into what made Wenger’s impervious Arsenal tick. "You had Patrick in midfield and Dennis Bergkamp, then you brought in Pires - what a talent,” Keown added. “Ray Parlour was granite and interweaving in all these teams."
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