Martin Keown makes offer to old foe Ruud van Nistelrooy after debut as Man Utd boss

Martin Keown cheekily said he would send Ruud van Nistelrooy a copy of his book as a reward for winning his first match as Manchester United interim boss.

The Arsenal legend watched the former United forward oversee a thrilling 5-2 home victory over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. Braces from Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro and a goal from Alejandro Garnacho saw the Red Devils book a quarter-final meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.

Van Nistelrooy, 48, is expected to be in the dugout when United host Chelsea, but his time as interim boss is expected to end soon with the imminent arrival of Ruben Amorim. While Keown also analysed Van Nistelrooy's methods, he also could not help himself from reminding the forward of their exchange at 'the Battle of Old Trafford' in September 2003.

With Arsenal in the early stages of their Invincibles Premier League winning season, Van Nistelrooy had the opportunity to inflict defeat from the spot. He had already made an impact on the match when Patrick Vieira saw red after being adjudged to have kicked out at the Dutchman, even though he did not really touch him.

From 12 yards, Van Nistelrooy had the opportunity to win the game for United and end any early hope of an unbeaten season for the Gunners. However, he smacked the crossbar with his spot-kick, cueing delirium from the away side.

Keown famously got caught up in the heat of the moment and proceeded to celebrate wildly in the face of the Dutchman. Both players never saw eye-to-eye from that moment on. If it were not already obvious, Keown made it clear that he has not forgotten their iconic bout on the pitch.

READ MORE: William Saliba offers Mikel Arteta Newcastle solution with perfect alternate Arsenal role

READ MORE: Kieran Tierney injury return game announced as Arsenal prepare to welcome back defender

He took to X and quipped: "Nice to see Ruud jumping around for a change [winking emoji]. Think I'll send him my book to congratulate him. It's released tomorrow."

More than 20 years after their dispute at Old Trafford, Keown heavily criticised Van Nistelrooy's contribution - or lack thereof - to Ten Hag's final months in charge at United. While speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I'm looking at Van Nistelrooy.

"Is he giving everything to this manager? This manager looks very lonely on the side-line. Is Van Nistelrooy waiting to take over? Because it looks as if there's going to be change taking place there.

"Is everyone adding to the group? I'm not seeing that from Van Nistelrooy. Ten Hag is just sitting there, nothing going on, no conversation.

"Pep [Guardiola] goes back and speaks to the gurus next to him. Is everybody looking in the mirror at themselves giving their best?

"It doesn't look like the players are committed, it doesn't look like the staff are particularly committed. It's a lone man in the dugout."

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.