Former Gunners defender wants Arsenal to stick up for each other more

Martin Keown said Arsenal were 'a little bit nice', which is a problem

The hosts had a man sent off and six players booked in a gritty encounter

Martin Keown has questioned whether Arsenal are too 'nice' to be successful and has urged players at his former club to put pressure on referees and to kick opponents to protect their team-mates.

Keown, a veteran of over 300 appearances for Arsenal across two spells, won three Premier League titles under Arsene Wenger but has identified some weaknesses in his current squad.

Wenger was accused of being 'arrogant or naive' earlier this week by Gary Neville for failing to add strength to his midfield and Sportsmail columnist Keown believes the lightweight Gunners need to stick up for each other more when the going gets tough.

Martin Keown has questioned whether Arsenal are too 'nice' to be successful after their win at Newcastle

The Gunners came out on top at St James' Park but there were six yellow cards and a red for the home side

Keown felt that Arsene Wenger's side were not sticking up for each other enough to prevent the fouls

Arsenal's 1-0 win at Newcastle United on Saturday saw Aleksandar Mitrovic sent off for a poor challenge while six of the hosts' players were booked in a gritty encounter at St James' Park.

Keown picked up on multiple occasions during the hard-fought clash where he felt Arsenal should have fought back while acting as a pundit on Match of the Day on Saturday evening.

'I think they're a little bit nice,' the former centre back said. '(Former Arsenal manager) George Graham said to us "you're too nice". You need to get round the referee, get round the players, protect your mates, and I can't understand here why Arsenal players just do not react.

'Now, Arsene Wenger might call me a little bit crazy here, but I feel that, if you're gonna kick me, then I'm gonna kick you and I'm gonna go and protect my team-mate. I see no Arsenal player reacting here (when Moussa Sissoko fouled Nacho Monreal), no-one's going near it.'

When questioned by Gary Lineker over whether kicking out at players was something to be recommended, Keown added: 'I think there are lots of ingredients to be successful and there needs to be a passion and a care for one another.

'It was only this one here suddenly (when Francis Coquelin was fouled by Florian Thauvin), the players were getting fed up, Coquelin, and (Alexis) Sanchez now reacts in the way that I would expect.

Keown makes his point alongside fellow pundit Ruud Gullit on Saturday night's episode of Match of the Day

Gary Lineker questioned whether it was acceptable to encourage players to kick their opponents

'Get round the referee and complain and be together as a group.'

Fellow pundit Ruud Gullit backed Keown's assessment, picking out a specific example from the Arsenal icon's career where he felt an abrasive attitude was necessary.

Keown was famously pictured shouting into the face of Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy after the Dutch forward missed a penalty late in a match at Old Trafford in 2003.

Keown famously shouted into Ruud van Nistelrooy's face in 2003, something Gullit went on to praise him for

'You have to go around the player who does it,' Gullit said. 'If you go around the player who does it, and it's a foul anyway, the referee will give a yellow card, and if it happens in the beginning of the game then the game will ease up.