One of Arsenal's greatest unsung heroes - Keown's tribute to Manninger

As a former player, I sometimes watch old TV footage and have no recollection of that game. With other moments, I can see a brief clip and I am taken right back to that time and place, and the memory is so vivid I can still feel it.

That feeling hit me with full force after I heard Thursday's tragic news about my old friend and former Arsenal team-mate Alex Manninger, when I saw a video of us celebrating together on the pitch after we had beaten West Ham on penalties in an epic FA Cup replay in 1998.

I've posted it on social media and it shows me going over to give him a bear hug, but it is him who ends up lifting me off the ground. I can still feel the energy of that embrace to this day.

I've spoken to some of my former Arsenal colleagues since Alex passed away and the news is still sinking in for all of us.

It's devastating to think that we have lost him at such a young age, and that I can never give him a hug again.

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'It felt like he had an aura around him'

Alex became part of the Arsenal family in the summer of 1997, when he had just turned 20. He was one of several new signings who joined us before Arsene Wenger's first full season in charge.

He arrived for pre-season training at the start of July, at the same time as Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Gilles Grimandi, Matthew Upson, Luis Boa Morte and Alberto Mendez. Christopher Wreh joined the following month.

They were a mix of world stars and players that no-one had probably heard of, but when we went on to win the Double that season, all of them played their part.

Image caption,

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger with his seven new signings at pre-season training in the summer of 1997. Back row, from left: Gilles Grimandi, Matthew Upson, Wenger, Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit. Front row, from left: Alberto Mendez, Alex Manninger and Luis Boa Morte

With Alex in particular, the more I think about his contribution, the more incredible it was.

When he and the other new players arrived, I was injured. It meant I wasn't out with them on the pitch at the start but I still noticed them in other ways.

I had broken my shoulder playing for England and I spent that summer doing rehab in the gym. I was usually the only one in the weights room but Alex and Emmanuel would come in and do work-outs and I remember thinking 'wow, they mean business'.

That impressed me about Alex straight away, but what really stood out was how he performed when he came into the first team after David Seaman got injured in January.

It felt like he had a kind of an aura around him, when you have to remember he was actually a 20-year-old Austrian kid who had just arrived in the Premier League and had only played a couple of games in the League Cup before Christmas.

Manchester United were top of the Premier League at the time and, along with all the teams we had to play, they probably thought it was good news for them that Seaman was out. It didn't turn out that way.

'I never felt he was under pressure'

Image caption,

Manninger punches the ball clear from Manchester United striker Andy Cole during Arsenal's crucial 1-0 win at Old Trafford in March 1998

Looking back, I honestly don't think many people would have been capable of pulling off what Alex did when Dave was sidelined.

Alex was not just coming into a team who were chasing the title at a crucial time of the season, he was replacing a world-class keeper who was at the very top of the game, but he took it all in his stride.

Alex kept a clean sheet in his first six league games for Arsenal and we won five of them, including a crucial 1-0 away victory at United as we reeled them in.

To put that result into context, Arsenal had never even scored a goal at Old Trafford in the Premier League era before then, let alone beaten them there.

It meant we had the title in our hands for the first time - we were still six points behind United but had three games in hand - and we did not look back from there.

Thinking about that game, with Arsenal about to head up to Manchester again this weekend for another title decider, this time against City, makes this weekend even more poignant for me.

Image caption,

Manninger celebrates at full-time after Arsenal's 1-0 win at Old Trafford in March 1998

Although Alex missed out on the final, he also played a huge part in our run to winning the FA Cup, playing in five ties in total including that amazing night at Upton Park where we won against all the odds.

We went down to 10 men after 33 minutes against the Hammers, when Dennis Bergkamp was sent off, but took the lead through Nicolas Anelka before half-time and were only pegged back when John Hartson equalised six minutes from time. The tie went to extra time and a penalty shootout where Alex saved from Eyal Berkovic to help send us through.

In his 16 appearances that season, 13 of them came consecutively in that spell between January and March when he was covering for Dave, and we only lost once - to Chelsea in the League Cup.

We didn't miss a beat with Alex in the team and what still stands out now is how quickly he convinced me he was up to it.

I played in front of him in seven of those matches, and I was never worried about him or felt he was under pressure the way I sometimes did when I had an inexperienced player around me.

There was something almost charmed about him, because he never seemed to make a mistake. If he did, he would follow it with a blinding save.

When Dave was fit again, he came back into the side - that was how Arsene operated, and he had made it clear at the start of the season that Seaman was his number one. We understood because Dave was immense but, to a man, everyone thought Alex was unlucky to be dropped.

He'd been that good, he was the Premier League's player of the month for March.

'I can still remember the connection we had'

Image caption,

Manninger (far right) celebrates Arsenal's 1998 Premier League triumph at Highbury with (from left) David Seaman, Patrick Vieira and Gilles Grimandi

We had to get special dispensation for Alex to get a Premier League winners medal in 1998. Back then, you needed 10 appearances to get one - he had only made seven.

Everyone at the club thought he fully deserved it, though, and the Arsenal fans took to Alex too, because of how brilliantly he played.

They had a song for him, roughly to the tune of the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice.

Alex Manninger, Alex Manninger

Got a sore finger, got a sore finger

Loves Arsene Wenger, loves Arsene Wenger

We would sing it to him too, whenever he came into the room. He loved it. Alex was a shy guy initially, but that changed when he was part of the group.

You always get to know some players better than others at any club you are at, but there was a real togetherness in our squad at the time. Everyone would mix together.

I roomed with Stephen Hughes that season but Matt Upson and Alex would come to our room to play PlayStation games when we were in hotels for away matches. I was a few years older, so they kept me young really.

Alex's character was quite a contrast on and off the pitch - on it, he was fiercely competitive. He always trained incredibly hard and he was very driven.

He could sometimes be very critical of himself if he made a mistake, but it was very clear he just did not want to be beaten. As a senior player, I loved that mentality.

Off the pitch, he was a huge personality too. Someone who was great fun to be around but also very calm - unless he was playing on the PlayStation.

Looking at photos of him now reminds me of how he was, and of those days, but it is something more than that. When I think of Alex, I can still picture the connection we had in my mind's eye.

He left Arsenal in 2002 and I had not seen him for a number of years before he passed away, but whenever you win things together, like we did - we went through some really big nights together - then there is a bond there that keeps you together forever.

That 1997-98 season was the first in my career where I tasted real success - it was my first league title, and first FA Cup - and I will never forget he played a major part in that.

Image caption,

Manninger (far left) gets his hands on the FA Cup at Wembley in 1998 along with (l-r) Gunners goakeeper coach Bob Wilson, David Seaman and John Lukic

Footballers are like ships in the night sometimes - you can lose touch with old team-mates for ages but when you meet up, you just pick up where you left off. When you lose someone like this, though, it's a reminder not to take it for granted that you will see people again.

The Arsenal family has lost Kevin Campbell recently too, again in tragic circumstances. It was the same with Jose Antonio Reyes, who also lost his life in a car accident. It's a reminder of how fragile life is.

The outstanding tributes to Alex that I've read since he passed away make me sure that the personality and charisma he had when he was with us did not disappear when he left Arsenal.

When writing this tribute I felt very determined to make sure he gets the recognition he deserves. As a player, I'd say Alex is one of Arsenal's greatest unsung heroes. As a person, he is going to be missed so much.

Martin Keown was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.