Arsenal hero Martin Keown says England boss Fabio Capello was right to lift his booze ban this week.

Capello allowed his players to have a beer ahead of their victory over Slovenia.

And Keown wrote in his column for the Daily Mail: "I don't think drinking alcohol regularly has any part to play in modern football but allowing players to have a drink once in a while - like Fabio Capello did with the England players - needn't be a massive problem.

"Harry Redknapp's analogy that you wouldn't put diesel in a Ferrari is spot on. Footballers are athletes and drinking alcohol damages your muscles, as the toxins affect hormones that aid their growth and recovery - Arsene Wenger taught us that when he arrived at Arsenal.

"But there are rare occasions when a couple of beers at the right time can be important for team spirit. You can get together, relax, get to know each other better and have a few laughs.

"Capello chose the right time to do that as the team were obviously having a bit of a tough time of it. I'm just surprised it became public and I'm not sure what the point of that was.

"Things have changed so much since I started out in the game in the 1980s. Drinking lots was normal then although it was something I was never a part of."