Decision time for Arsenal stalwart Keown

"He's also a man of vision and has been a significant figure in building the new training ground and now the new stadium. I can't see him leaving the club. This is just the start for him. There must be a lot of personal satisfaction in what he's achieved.

"As Herbert Chapman is remembered for what he did at Arsenal in the 1930s, Arsene will long be remembered for what he's doing now.

"When he joined the club I remember wondering whether this nice guy could win things for us. The most refreshing thing is that he's proved we can win with his style of management.

"I've seen him get animated occasionally but I have to say that it would be difficult for me now in a dressing room with a lot of ranting and raving. I could deal with it, but it would be a shock. It's all very calm now in our dressing room." Keown believes that Wenger's attention to lifestyle, diet sheets and training routines has helped extend his career.

"I feel I could play on but I want to discuss that with the manager," said Keown, who is out-of-contract in the summer and has attracted interest from West Ham and Portsmouth. "He's watched me for the last seven years. Everyone tells me to play for as a long as I can, but I'd like to further my career in the game. I will find it hard to walk away, it's been such a big part of my life. If I go into coaching, though, I will want to do it with the commitment I've shown as a player. I will want to win."

Keown won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal, the Cup Winners' Cup once and played in three Championshipteams. He would probably have doubled his tally of medals and challenged David O'Leary's appearance record (722) had he not left to join Aston Villa in 1986.

"It was a money issue," he recalled. "I was 19 and just wanted a little respect for what I thought I'd achieved. The minute I made the decision to sign for another club I knew I was wrong. I didn't really think about it. I just jumped. I was naive. I think that it would have been a major regret had I never returned to Arsenal. But I grew up a lot when I left. It made me appreciate what I'd had at Arsenal. Not every club has the same standards."

Keown returned in February 1993 when George Graham's fabled back four, title winners in 1989 and 1991, were at the peak of their powers. "I had to be patient," he recalled.

"It would have been difficult for anyone to come in and break up that partnership. They were a secure unit and they'd achieved a lot. I might not have appeared in all the photos at the time but if you look at the stats I played in all the games that mattered.

"I enjoyed playing with all of them. Tony Adams and Steve Bould both knew the way to play and once I'd picked up how George wanted to defend it became second nature."

Rule changes since his debut against West Bromwich Albion in November 1985 inevitably effected the way the abrasive Keown went about his business. A placid, thoughtful man off the field, he had a volatile uncompromising style that surfaced regularly throughout his playing career - most recently, of course, at Old Trafford in September.

"I remember being on the end of some unbelievable things in the early part of my career," he recalled. "You'd get locked up for it today. I took quite a few smacks to the face. I just took it and got on with it. I never complained publicly about anyone who caught me off the ball.

"I caught people sometimes, but if you went through hours of video tape of me you'll find I always went for the ball. I don't think there's been one horror tackle. I like to think I've been an honest player. I also like to think I've been a winner."

Keown's tough-guy image guaranteed the inevitable reaction from the terraces. Although a folk hero at Highbury, he's been widely abused everywhere else. "You just get on with it," he smiled. "Actually, it makes me play better.

"What is difficult sometimes is when people can't separate the man on the pitch from the man off it. Fortunately most people understand that we're out there to do a job and we're not necessarily the same off the pitch.

"I've had some good banter with Tottenham and West Ham fans and the thing is that they all end up saying the same - wish you were in our team, Martin."

As most people discover on closer examination, there is another side to Keown. Who knows, for instance, of his interest in celtic history?

"My parents are Irish," he smiled. "I could have played for the Republic or Northern Ireland. A lot of my family still can't believe I chose to play for England. I love celtic music and dancing. I could watch that dancing all day."

Tickets for Martin Keown's testimonial match are available from the Arsenal booking office or on the credit card line 0870 3800 232.