EMMANUEL PETIT claims football "saved" fellow Arsenal legend Martin Keown from a life of crime.

Petit revealed the ex-hardman "reminded me of psychopaths" but controlled his behaviour as he knew he was being watched on TV.

Keown, 57, now a BBC and BT Sport pundit, won the last of his three Premier League titles with the Gunners as one of the 2003-4 "Invincibles".

But French World Cup winner Petit reckons only the discipline of sport kept the former England centre-back on the straight and narrow.

The ex-midfielder, 53, told talkSPORT: "I always told him that football saved his life. Otherwise he would have been a criminal.

"You know, the rules on the pitch... the fact that he could fight on the pitch, but with referees, things like this, he knew that television was looking at him, fans were looking at him, so he had to behave - with good manners as well.

"But I remember so many things with him. This guy sometimes reminds me of psychopaths."

Petit smiled as he added: "I told him football saved you. Otherwise you'll be in trouble in normal life because he's such a nice guy but all of a sudden in the space of one second he can change."

Keown was at the centre of one of English football's most notorious images - aggressively taunting Manchester United Ruud van Nistelrooy over a missed penalty in September 2003.

But Petit gave another dramatic example of what he believes was the defender's sensitive temperament.

He explained how Arsenal team-mates intervened against Sheffield Wednesday when Keown got his fingers around Paolo Di Canio's throat.

The former Chelsea and Barcelona star said: "You could see his eyes - he was not there anymore. He just wanted to kill Paolo Di Canio.

"So the way he plays, the way he used to take care of the strikers all the time - me and Patrick (Vieira) in midfield were so happy to have Martin at the back for you."

Petit also joked that Keown's defensive partner Tony Adams was "clever" at "managing Martin just like someone who is walking with his dangerous dog".