Wenger lauds 'inspirational' Keown

Lokomotiv Moscow 0 Arsenal 0

Wenger admitted his frustration at his side's failure to take their chances in the 0-0 draw with Lokomotiv Moscow and claimed they should have been awarded a second-half penalty.

However, Keown led by example in the absence of Patrick Vieira through injury as Arsenal secured their first Champions League point.

The Arsenal defender then spoke for the first time about his role in the ugly scenes which marred his side's previous goalless draw at Old Trafford.

Keown admitted that Arsenal had been "a little bit intoxicated" during the "unfortunate" scenes which unfolded in Manchester.

He was singled out for particular criticism of the way in which he goaded Ruud van Nistelrooy after his penalty miss and then celebrated in the Dutchman's face at the final whistle, banging his elbow albeit accidentally into the back of his head. That led to Keown being charged by the Football Association with improper conduct and violent behaviour, which could lead to a four-game ban.

The former England international nevertheless insisted: "Obviously it was an unfortunate situation but I don't think that I really hurt anybody up there.

"We have a big reputation at Arsenal in doing things the right way and I think we were a little bit intoxicated by the elation of those last few moments in the game. We've been hammered ever since.

"I feel that I've lived my life (well) on and off the field and although people can look, they won't find anything (untoward).

"Generally, I do my job on the pitch to a high standard and I feel that throughout my career I've been a good role model for young players.

"Okay, what happened at Old Trafford wasn't brilliant but, as I say, I think my record is there for everyone to see."

Keown had certainly regained his self-control and discipline on the pitch in Moscow as he inspired Arsenal's resilient defensive display alongside Kolo Toure.

Wenger declared: "Defensively, we were highly concentrated and Martin is teaching Kolo Toure a lot about the game.

"What he has done in the past two games, as well as at Old Trafford, has been fantastic."

The Arsenal boss revealed his players felt they were unfairly deprived of a penalty when there was an alleged handball in a goalmouth scramble.

"I must say that the boys said it was 100% handball," he said. Wenger praised his side's commitment in responding to their 3-0 home defeat by Inter Milan in their opening group game.

However, despite being forced to field a depleted line-up, he admitted his frustration at allowing victory to slip from their grasp as three clear chances went begging.

"I feel frustrated as we felt that we had enough chances to win the game and that's what we came here to do," he added.

"We were slaughtered at Spartak Moscow a few years ago and I didn't feel we should have won that game, but tonight I have more regrets.

"The spirit in the whole squad was fantastic. The boys gave everything and I can't fault their commitment, desire or spirit.

"But of course they were like me in the dressing room as they are frustrated because they wanted to win the game.

"That's part of our philosophy. It's not a failure but the performance can be good and you can still be frustrated."

LOKOMOTIV MOSCOW: Ovchinnikov, Ignashevich, Sennikov, Gurenko, Pashinin, Evseev (Nizhegorodov 73), Loskov, Maminov, Izmailov, Khokhlov, Ashvetia (Pimenov 65).

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Keown, Toure, Cole, Pires, Edu, Silva, Parlour, Henry, Wiltord.