'This is scandalous': Martin Keown hints at Tottenham conspiracy theory to stop Arsenal winning Premier League title

Arsenal legend Martin Keown could have added another Premier League title to his collection, had it not been for rivals Tottenham.

Keown has never hidden his love for the red half of north London and even now the former Gunners centre-back is only too happy to go to war for his former club.

The 57-year-old won three Premier League titles under Arsene Wenger, but it could have been four if the computer had not selected Spurs to play. manchester united on the last day of the 1998/99 season.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side went into the final game a point clear and with a slightly better goal difference than the defending champions. Arsenalin his quest to regain the title.

The Gunners needed to improve on United's result in their clash with Aston Villa at Highbury, but unfortunately for Keown, his team was reliant on 11th-placed Spurs, causing the surprise of all surprises and helping their bitter rivals to back-to-back titles.

Arsenal achieved a 1-0 victory that day, but it was United's comeback and their 2-1 victory over Tottenham that ended Keown's title dream.

“I remember in 1999 Spurs went to Old Trafford and we lost the league by one point,” Keown recalled. “We saw that Spurs had got ahead and maybe they saw it and thought we were going to help Arsenal win the league.

“Their performance in the second half was terrible. They lost the game and Andy Cole He scored a very good goal, it must be said. But he was allowed so much time and space it was ridiculous. “John Scales should be ashamed.”

Co-host Simon Jordan, along with several disgruntled Spurs callers, challenged Keown's opinion.

“So it's a conspiracy theory?” asked Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace.

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Meanwhile, presenter Jim White said: “This is almost scandalous. Are you suggesting that, even back then, Tottenham underperformed at Old Trafford to prevent Arsenal from winning the league?”

Keown responded: “We have that situation now, don't we? We'll depend on them in the last week of the season.”

Keown, a member of the Gunners' 'Invincibles' team in 2004, believes Tottenham have long made trying to stop Arsenal's success rather than focusing on their own goals a priority.

The talkSPORT co-host spoke ahead of Sunday's intriguing north London derby, in which Spurs could make a big impact on Arsenal's title challenge.

But Keown has urged Spurs and the club's supporters to focus entirely on their goal of finishing in the top four and qualifying for next season's revamped Champions League.

“Whenever we needed to play the Spurs, they were always the ones trying to stop us,” Keown said. “It's a really difficult game against your local rivals because these are a Spurs team that can beat anyone at home.

“His motivation was always to stop Arsenal from winning anything. How about having your own set of ideals, your own goals? Set your own goals.”

Keown continued: “It's still (his motivation). Look how many years these fans have gone without a trophy? Almost 40 years have passed. He kills them every time Arsenal win a game. I know Spurs fans, they say it's ridiculous that Arsenal keep winning.

“When they were on that 11-game run (at the start of the season), I ran into the Spurs fans and said 'you're doing well, forget about us.' What's your motivation, Spurs fans?

Keown's opinion sparked an avalanche of calls from Spurs fans seeking to challenge him.

James, a Spurs supporter, told Keown: “We want to win every game we can until the end of the season. Do you really think our manager is unprofessional enough to say 'good guys, let's go out on Sunday and Let's do everything we can while we can?' “Arsenal don't win the league? Have you forgotten what pride is?”

Meanwhile, Tottenham fan Paul said: “To a certain extent we would love to beat them. You were in our sights when we were in the top four and you didn't finish anywhere. Yes, now the tables have turned and of course “We would love to beat you.”

However, Keown had the last word and responded with a very cheeky response: “But when you've had that dominance and you've beaten us, you haven't won any trophy. There's no trophy for finishing above Arsenal.”