Harry Kane loves punishing Arsenal.
The Spurs forward scored his seventh goal against the Gunners in last month’s 1-0 victory at Wembley and now only Emmanuel Adebayor has netted more in the North London derby than Kane.
But it could have been so different as Kane actually started as an Arsenal academy prospect, joining as an eight-year-old after first representing local club, Ridgeway Rovers.
The forward was released by the Gunners after just one season and the reason has now been revealed, with former Gunners academy director Liam Brady admitting that they’d misjudged Kane.
“Unfortunately yes. He was chubby and not very athletic, but we got it wrong,” Brady told Corriere della Sera.
“Even Tottenham loaned him out to the lower leagues three or four times though.
“But with his determination, he is building a great career. And he deserves it.”
After failing to light the world on fire on several loan deals, Kane eventually proved himself worthy of a starting place for Spurs and has since developed into one of the world’s most clinical finishers.
He’s come a long way from the slightly overweight kid who couldn’t convince Arsenal of his merits and, back in 2015, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger admitted that he was slightly frustrated by the fact that the club allowed a talent like Kane to get away.
“I found it quite funny, you know, but you are always a bit angry as well because I asked why did he go?” Wenger said.
“But at nine years of age, boys can move here and there. Some people move from Tottenham to Arsenal. At youth level, because their parents find a different job, they often move somewhere else.”
