is KEOWN done?

What are you saying? Since he's been back from injury we've been on a streak of 14 games undefeated. Yes he is slower than Cygan and yes he doesn't pass the ball as well, but, he also doesn't look like a chicken with his head cut off when the pressures really on! If we'd let him go to Newcastle it could well be them that's top of the table. It's hard to buy his kind of experience.

What he crucially provides for the team is good old fashioned muscle. It's for the same reason that Luzheny, when not injured, would get my vote over Lauren. There's plenty of velvet for the glove, but sometimes we lack a bit of steel for the fist!

 

I think your confusing his ability with that dumb jackass look on his face. Keown is a bit slow but his experience and grit overcome that. He has performed better than Cygan this season and I see Keown in next years lineup as well.

 

His sudden outbursts of rage frighten me every once in awhile. He's great in my book as long as he keeps a cool head and doesn't give up any silly penatlies or bookings...he's trying to replacethe role of tony adams i guess

 

There's only one...

Keown has been outstanding this season. He absolutely never gives up. They'll be lowering him into the ground one day and he'll still be trying to make a play for the ball.

I think Cygan will continue to develop. I like his toughness. The maturity and decision making will come.

Keown, at least for now, is irreplaceable.

George

 

I wouldn't give up Keown for anybody. He's been fantastic this entire season, occasional hilarious stumbling notwithstanding. He's not as quick as Sol or Cygan, but he's fearless and can win the ball from the toughest attackers. I think he's been a key to Arsenal's defensive success, along with big Sol. (Cygan I'm still a little iffy about, though I've grown to like Lauren quite a bit.)

 

Cygan cost us the match?

You hate to pin it all on one player, (as it took the whole team to continually shoot over the bar,) but is it fair to say that had it been Sol out there instead of Cygan, Roma would not have scored their goal?

 

from soccernet

However, Keown hit back tonight as he declared: 'If Mr Capello knows anything about Martin Keown, he would know he is not a cheat.'


why does he talk like that?

 

Arsenal would be sorely lacking without Martin Keown.

He has a grit and determination, not to mention wealth of experience that none of the other defenders (Sol excepted) have.

To lose Tony Adams and then Martin in successive seasons would be a real blow, I'd like to see him stay on for next year as well. Even if he does only play a few matches here and there his is a valuable voice in the locker room and if we ever want to get an opposing player sent off all we have to do is have them tangle with MK and one of them will be shown red in a matter of minutes.

 

Joking apart, as someone mentioned in another thread, Totti will not now be available to do the business against Ajax. We may live to rue MK's craftiness!

For whatever reason this Arsenal team seem to suffer more than most from bad Kama. Anything naughty they do seems to rebound very quickly. Maybe we need to get Glen Hoddles psychic lady to send a few good omens our way?

 

Yes, Keown's inevitably slowing down a bit, but slower than Cygan? I don't think so. As for Cygan eventually finding the "maturity and decision making", the bloke's 28 for God's sake! If he hasn't got these skills by now when will he? Buying a guy this old was a short term measure at best and he still hasn't convinced in an Arsenal shirt.

Keown has years of experience at home and in Europe which can never be underestimated. His grit and determination is second to none, witness who is the first one to throw himself in the way when a shot is coming in, he literally puts his body on the line. He's never been great on the ball, but his job is to defend and he does it very well. I hope he stays on next year too as even if we sign a younger central defender, and I hope we do, Martin's experience and knowhow will be vital for the new player to settle in.

 

I don't think you can write off Cygan yet. While this season, he's been pretty much a journeyman, it does take usually a season to learn the English game. The speed, the formations, the quality of players, the tactics, the weather, the pitches, etc...all make the EPL a bit tough to learn quickly. Sure, the best players are able to learn faster but I don't think Cygan will ever be a world beater...

As for Keown, give me Martin on the back line any day! His skill and tenacity has saved Arsenal many many times over the years and I expect for at least another year.

 

I can't see how Wenger can drop Keown unless he's retired. He's the only player left from our famous back four.

 

Why did we sell Matty? From memory he played most of his games at left back and did pretty well. He was a little dodgy at centre half, but, he didn't really get a chance to develop?

Lucio would be good, but, how old is he? Lets get someone with a decent shelf life.