🧐 The reason is utterly bizarre: why Kane was once let go by Arsenal | OneFootball

It’s all set! On Wednesday evening, the Emirates Stadium will host what might be the biggest match of this season’s Champions League so far: Arsenal FC versus Bayern Munich, first in the table against second, both dominant leaders in their domestic leagues—football doesn’t get any better than this!

But for one player, this match is just a tiny bit more special. Of course, we’re talking about Harry Kane. The striker spent a total of 19 years hunting for goals with Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham, becoming an absolute club legend during that time.

Even more intriguing is a story that many might only now be remembering: one of the best strikers of his generation was actually let go by Arsenal as a child!

An Unathletic Model Athlete?

Kane himself recounted the story again after the 6-2 win over Freiburg: he was seven or eight years old, training with Arsenal’s youth academy—and was sent away. No big drama, no long conversation. “That’s part of a story, part of football,” he says today, completely matter-of-fact.

But what really made the difference back then sounds almost absurd from today’s perspective: Liam Brady, the academy director at the time, later said Kane was “a bit chubby, not very athletic.”

A bit chubby? The very guy who would later wreak havoc in opposition penalty areas year after year. The very guy who, while perhaps not a textbook athlete in the classic sense, is still performing at a world-class level week after week at the seasoned footballing age of 32.

The Return to North London

After being released by Arsenal, Kane bounced around youth teams like Ridgeway Rovers and Watford before finally landing at Tottenham. And that’s where he exploded onto the scene. After several loan spells, hard work, and a steep development curve, he became a Spurs icon: 280 goals, 63 assists, 435 games. A complete striker, a captain, a figurehead.

Then, in 2023, came the big move: for a hefty €100 million, he transferred to Bayern Munich. His more than respectable interim record: 109 goals and 29 assists in 114 competitive matches—not bad at all! From “a bit chubby” to “big in the business.”

And yet, Wednesday’s match is likely to be emotional for him not just because of that old childhood story. Far more important is the North London rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham. Kane admits: matches against the Gunners have always given him extra motivation. And it will be no different this time. After their statement win against PSG, Bayern want to make another big mark on the international stage!

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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