Arsenal have developed some of the finest players in English football history down the years but, sometimes, a player slips through their grasp. It speaks volumes to the fine margins of becoming a professional footballer, as much as it does the even narrower margins of decisions that can make or break a player’s future at a certain club.
Fortunately for the player in question, his innate quality more than made up for a supposed unfavourable aesthetic as a youth, as he showed his old academy just how good he truly was, and then some. Evolving to become a consistent hindrance in North London Derbies and Premier League title races, this is the story of Harry Kane, his Arsenal rejection and Tottenham Hotspur redemption.
‘Chubby’ Kane Turned Away from Arsenal
Academy bosses didn’t believe Kane would make the cut
While it seems massively contradictory to the level he has reached today as an elite footballer, Harry Kane’s initial rise to prominence was a slow and steady one. Born in Walthamstow and raised in Chingford, just 20 minutes from Tottenham’s White Hart Lane ground, Kane grew up admiring Spurs and, in particular, he named former Spurs striker Teddy Sheringham his childhood idol.
That said, Kane was scouted and picked up from his local club, Ridgeway Rovers, by their bitter rivals Arsenal. They took him on when he was just eight years old, and then critically parted ways after just one year – claiming his size and stature were factors. Former academy director for the Gunners, Liam Brady, once told Italian publication Corriere della Sera:
“He was a bit chubby, he wasn’t very athletic but we made a mistake.
“Tottenham sent him out on loan to lower-division clubs three or four times as well.
“But through his determination he has carved out an amazing career and he deserves it. He has a character that drives him to improve all the time.”
Brady is correct in his estimations, with Spurs loaning Kane out to a number of clubs like Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich, and Leicester City. While he didn’t exactly light up the lower leagues, he still took in an awful lot of information and learned from his surroundings. Demonstrating the true nature of that aforementioned ‘character’ that Brady spoke of, Kane’s soundness of mind propelled his skill to the same level with training and an intense work ethic. He once spoke of Arsenal rejection helping to fuel his career. To the Telegraph, he stated:
“It might sound ridiculous. I was only eight when they let me go, but every time we played them, I thought, ‘Alright, we’ll see who’s right and who’s wrong’.
“Looking back on it now, [being released by Arsenal] was probably the best thing that ever happened to me because it gave me a drive that wasn’t there before.”
Harry Kane’s Tottenham Hotspur Statistics | |
|---|---|
Appearances | 435 |
Goals | 280 |
Assists | 61 |
Premier League Golden Boots | 3: 2015-16, 2016-17, 2020-21 |
Proving Arsenal Wrong
Kane has been a devastating goalscorer for almost a decade
While in his 15-year career so far, Harry Kane boasts 213 goals in 317 Premier League games with Tottenham. But there are two particular goals the current-Bayern Munich man holds dear. Back in February 2015, Kane notched an infamous double against the Gunners to win the North London Derby right at the death.
Mesut Ozil had opened the scoring with a close-range finish, yet Spurs battled back when Kane pounced to finish at the back post following Mousa Dembele’s flick from a corner early in the second half. He then rose like a salmon to head home in the 86th minute to take Spurs a point above the Gunners in the league table, in an era where the two were constantly at each other’s throats.
Regardless of his plethora of top-scorer awards for club and country, this fixture in one of Kane’s formative break-out season defines the striker’s evolution. Again, taken from the Telegraph, he said:
“For me, the rejection is the best thing that ever happened to me. I remember walking round the pitch after the final whistle and clapping to the fans and it felt like, ‘well, I told you so’.
“We were in the tunnel, and I thought, ‘Okay took me 12 years, but we’ll see who was right and who was wrong.
“I scored two that day, and the winner in the 86th minute was something that I’d never even dream of visualising before a match.”
Looking back, it’s no wonder Arsene Wenger was disappointed that his club’s academy let the youngster go before he could really show his true talent and ability. Speaking to the Guardian in November 2015, Wenger expressed his frustration and bewilderment:
“I didn’t know, I read it in the papers. I found it quite funny, you know, and you are always a bit angry as well because I asked: ‘Why did he go?’ But at that age, boys can move here and there.
“He is a very interesting and very strong striker. He has top qualities and I think he will make a great career.”
Harry Kane’s Record vs Arsenal | |
|---|---|
Appearances | 21 |
Goals | 15 |
Assists | 2 |
Wins | 8 |
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt. Correct as of 22.07.24