Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has shared another story from his days of playing under Arsene Wenger at the club, including a time when he got the manager furious.
Martin Keown spent the vast majority of his career with the Gunners over two spells that lasted over 13 years.
The centre-back came through the academy ranks before making a handful of appearances from 1984 to 1986.
His career then took him away from the club to Aston Villa and Everton before he eventually returned to Arsenal in 1993.
From there onwards, Keown cemented himself as a hero, winning three Premier League titles and three FA Cups – as well as being part of The Invincibles team of 2003/04.
That came under Arsene Wenger, with plenty of tales circulating over the years surrounding the Arsenal manager.
Martin Keown shares why Arsene Wenger was fuming after Arsenal arrival
Wenger was typically viewed as a mild-mannered coach who was much more of a thinking man than someone who blasted his players by shouting in their faces.
However, that’s not to say the Arsenal legend didn’t get angry from time to time, as was revealed by Keown.
Speaking on the Good and Bad Rugby Podcast, he told a story about Wenger from shortly after he joined the club.
“We went to Henlow Grange for three or four days, no game for two weeks, and it was Nigel Winterburn’s birthday.
“I was sent along to ask him [Wenger] if we can go out. But I wasn’t really asking him, I was telling him.
“When I said to him ‘Boss, can we go for a drink?’ he was like ‘Martin, this is poison, this is a disaster, you cannot drink’.
“So I said ‘Boss, no no no, we don’t play for two weeks’, ‘I know, but you cannot drink’, I said well I’m not really asking you, I’m telling you that these guys are going to go out whether you like it or not, so I’ll try and police it.
“‘Yes you will, I hold you personally responsible.’
“So I take everyone out, we go to the local pub and Paul Merson goes into the pub and he does a forward roll in the middle of the pub and he gets an imaginary gun out of a holster and he goes right round the pub and [blows imaginary gun] puts it back in and says ‘right, let’s get the drinks in’.”
It’s fair to say that ended up in a crazy night for the Arsenal players, with Keown looking to round them back up to return as Wenger had asked.
“Then two hours later I said ‘Right lads, drink up, we’re going’ ‘No we’re not going’. I came back to the hotel with two players out of 15 and Wenger is going berserk, so this was a bit of a wake-up call.”
It was something that would later dramatically change at Arsenal, with Wenger implementing a new style to how his players would take care of themselves.
Arsene Wenger’s nutrition change at Arsenal transformed the club
During a time when footballers were professional in name, but perhaps not by nature, Wenger totally transformed the landscape in England.
Upon his arrival at Arsenal, the manager changed habits and turned a drinking culture in a healthy one at the club.
It was something his former physio, Gary Lewin, discussed when talking to GOAL in 2022, stating: “He had players who were committed, who knew the game, but physically they probably didn’t live their lives the way they should.
“Culturally, it was a drinking profession where you played hard, on and off the pitch. But he changed their attitudes and said, ‘No, your preparation, your training and how you prepare is as important as the games.’
“It’s like anyone in any form of life. If you clean up your day-to-day living, you eat the right foods, you get plenty of sleep and you are not doing the wrong things, you will feel better in yourself.”
It was a change that improved Arsenal and led them to titles, though eventually the rest of English football caught up.
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