Martin Keown was a mainstay in the Arsenal defence across the 90s. He had a productive relationship with defensive partner Tony Adams for both Arsenal and the national team. Keown joined Arsenal on a schoolboy contract at 14. His professional debut came at 19 while playing for Brighton and Hove Albion on loan. The next season he made his Arsenal debut. In 1986, he was sold to Aston Villa by new coach George Graham. Villa were unremarkable in the 3 seasons Keown spent there but he was indispensable to their team during that period. Between 1989 and 1993, he was at Everton. In 1993, he was re-signed by Arsenal. Keown had to sometimes fill in at right-back, left-back, and even midfield; this sort of versatility would prove very useful for Arsenal in the coming years. After Keown spent four full seasons in the first team, Arsene Wenger arrived as manager of The Gunners. Wenger used him as a defensive midfielder in his first season. In his second season where Arsenal won the league-FA Cup double, Keown could only make 18 appearances due to injuries. Subsequently, he was an integral part of Wenger’s teams. He had a memorable game in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk in 2000-01 when he scored twice in the dying minutes to help Arsenal overturn a 2-1 deficit to 3-2. Another double followed in 2002, and while the league run faltered in 2003, Keown helped his team add another FA cup to the tally. During the Invincibles season, Martin Keown was involved in what ended up being known as ‘The Battle of Old Trafford’. Ruud van Nistelrooy missed his penalty and Keown gave a hit on the back of his head. He was also involved in some post-match scuffles which earned him a 3-match suspension and fine. Despite only making 10 league appearances that season, he left a memorable imprint on it for the ages. Keown was released by Arsenal in 2004, after 11 years in service of the club. Keown played 43 games for England and was in the squad for World Cups in 1998 & 2002 and Euro 1992 & 2000.