Keown, a veteran of over 300 appearances for Arsenal across two spells, won three Premier League titles under Arsene Wenger but has identified some weaknesses in his current squad.
Wenger was accused of being 'arrogant or naive' earlier this week by Gary Neville for failing to add strength to his midfield and Sportsmail columnist Keown believes the lightweight Gunners need to stick up for each other more when the going gets tough.
Arsenal's 1-0 win at Newcastle United on Saturday saw Aleksandar Mitrovic sent off for a poor challenge while six of the hosts' players were booked in a gritty encounter at St James' Park.
Keown picked up on multiple occasions during the hard-fought clash where he felt Arsenal should have fought back while acting as a pundit on Match of the Day on Saturday evening.
'I think they're a little bit nice,' the former centre back said. '(Former Arsenal manager) George Graham said to us "you're too nice". You need to get round the referee, get round the players, protect your mates, and I can't understand here why Arsenal players just do not react.