Martin Keown says Spurs should have kept Antonio Conte (Image: Getty/talkSPORT)

Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes the Gunners “played a part” in the sacking of Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte on Sunday.

Conte only lasted 16 months when he joined Spurs in November 2021 and was sacked after an extraordinary tirade and a terrible run of results.

That month, Tottenham were knocked out of the FA Cup by champions Sheffield United, knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan and lost a two-goal lead over junior Southampton in the Premier League.

After the 3–3 draw at St Mary’s, Conte lashed out at the club, taking aim at Daniel Levy over Spurs’ lack of trophies and labeling players as “selfish”.

However, Keown thinks the success of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur’s rivals this season, also played a role in Spurs’ decision to part ways with the Italian.

The Gunners are currently top of the Premier League with 10 games remaining and are 20 points ahead of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

When asked about Spurs’ call to fire Conte, Keown told talkSPORT, “I think they should have kept him until the end of the season without a doubt.”

Asked if he said that when Arsenal said invincible, Keown added: “No, but now that you mention it I think Arsenal played a part.

“The fact that Arsenal are 20 points ahead of Spurs and both were close to the top four last year puts a lot of pressure on Spurs.

“But it is what happened in March. The failure of the FA Cup, what happened against AC Milan, the 3-3 game against Southampton… March was miserable for them.

‘[Conte] knew he was leaving. He wanted and had to say what was going on with this football club and they had to make an inventory of it.

Tottenham have not won a major trophy since 2008 when they won the League Cup.