Arsenal Invincible reveals that everyone has been saying his name wrong for over 40 years

Martin Keown is a well-known name in English football, but it turns out we've been saying his name wrong for decades.

He Arsenal The legend has been a big name for 40 years and made his first team debut on loan at Brighton during the 1984/85 season.

During that time, Keown has dominated English football, earning many major honors along the way, but it turns out fans and pundits alike haven't said his name the way his Gaelic family intended.

Speaking to Hayters, Keown said: “Yes, Ke-owen is the pronunciation.

“My father worked hard and I gave up because it was so hard to get people to say the word.

“The Irish just say it and it goes off the tongue in their dialect, but for the English to say it…

“Jon Motson in his wisdom, may he rest in peace, spoke to me before about one of the first games he played with me and such was his preparation, that he asked me 'how are we saying this.'

“I had listened to Keown and Ke-owen and we decided that Keown was perhaps the most sensible way to do it, so that's what we did.”

Keown was born in Oxford to Irish parents, meaning he could have represented England or the Republic of Ireland at international level.

The defender finally chose to side with the Three Lions and went on to play 43 international matches for his country.

Enjoying time with Aston Villa, Everton and Arsenal, Keown won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups.

He also played a key role in the Gunners' legendary 'Invincibles' season in 2003/04, which saw them go unbeaten throughout the Premier League campaign.

2

Since retiring, Keown has moved into broadcasting and is a regular on talkSPORT, where he is among the game's most successful pundits.