'You were a thug!' Chris Sutton reveals what it was like to play against 'nasty' Martin Keown

'You were a thug!' Chris Sutton reveals what it was like to play against 'nasty' Martin Keown.

Martin Keown has opened up on the dark arts of football in a special episode of Mail Sport's podcast, It's All Kicking Off. Keown was known as one of the best defenders of his era and spent more than a decade with Arsenal where he won three Premier League titles. He developed a formidable defensive partnership with Gunners legend Tony Adams and also represented England at four major tournaments. The 57-year-old was an extremely tough customer and regularly engaged in physical battles with opponents, with none more famous than the Battle of Old Trafford in 2003 when he locked horns with Ruud van Nistelrooy. And, speaking with Mail Sport football editor Ian Ladyman and columnist Chris Sutton, Keown explained the reason behind his tough approach to the game. 'I was a contact defender so I was going to make that first contact and it was about winning that battle,' he said. 'It's a shame we don't ever see a montage of clearances, headers and tackles but 90 per cent of players I played against were rattled by it (the dark arts). 'I had a little book and I knew which characters would just crumble. Some were really up for it, like Mark Hughes, who was brilliant because you could clout him, hit him and he would stand there.

0:21 'You were a thug!' Chris reveals what it was like to play against Martin Keown
1:19 How many players did Martin Keown rattle during his career?
3:11 'It was full-on!' Keown was just as terrifying in training!
4:16 Chris reveals how he reacted to Martin Keown pinching him during games against Arsenal
5:21 'How naive!' Keown reveals how his antics led to Francesco Totti being sent off!

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