Update: I saw Martin Keown apologise to Ruud van Nistelrooy after Man United incident – I wouldn’t have done News

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown famously celebrated directly in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s face after he missed a Man United penalty 22 years ago.

Former Arsenal ace Freddie Ljungberg has said ex-teammate Martin Keown should not have apologised for celebrating in the face of Ruud van Nistelrooy after the latter missed a penalty for Manchester United against the Gunners back in 2003.

United and Arsenal went head-to-head in the sixth game of the 2003/04 Premier League season at Old Trafford and Van Nistelrooy squandered the chance to seal all three points for the Reds, smashing a stoppage time penalty against the crossbar, meaning the game finished 0-0.

The Dutchman had already been at the centre of attention, overreacting to an incident that resulted in Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira getting sent-off for a second yellow card with 81 minutes played. It sparked wild scenes between both sets of players.

However, United were given the chance to win it when Diego Forlan was fouled inside the box by Keown and referee Steve Bennett pointed to the penalty spot. Van Nistelrooy stepped up to take the penalty and hit the bar, resulting in Keown celebrating directly in his face.

Keown has since apologised to the now-Leicester City boss, shaking his hand and offering a few words when working for TNT Sports during Arsenal’s clash with Leicester at the King Power Stadium in February.

However, Ljungberg, who started that game, has admitted he would not have offered an apology.

“I’ve seen some of your interviews afterwards and you apologised,” the Swede told TNT Sports. “I would have never apologised for what happened.”

Reflecting on that particular incident, Ljungberg continued: “When you did that, by the way, I felt – I never said this on TV – but that we stood up for ourselves.

“A lot of people in the media were like: ‘We were weak, we could get bullied, we were this, we were that, we’re not strong enough.’

“And that day, even if it didn’t look good, I felt inside that yes, that team, we don’t get bullied.

“And that’s what everyone in England said: ‘Just kick them and they will fall.’ So no.”

When Keown said that he felt he had let his teammates down, Ljungberg concluded: “You didn’t let us down at all, you were a leader.”

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