Explained: Why Harry Kane was released by Arsenal as Bayern Munich striker seeks revenge

An image of Kane wearing an Arsenal shirt and celebrating the club's Premier League win in 2004 has been on social media for quite some time now. In the famous photograph, Kane can be seen alongside a fellow academy player and even his head is painted in Arsenal's red. In another viral image, Kane posed for a team photo with the under-8 squad in a full Gunners kit. However, his journey with the club did not last long.

The Mirror has spoken to some of the coaches who were present at Arsenal's Hale End Academy in 2004, regarding Kane's rejection. Apparently, the current England captain not only had what people might describe as 'puppy fat' at the time but was also not a great runner or athlete. 

At that time, Kane competed with Benik Afobe, who was considered as a brighter prospect and better athlete. Afobe, though, never broke into the Arsenal first team and was instead sent out on multiple loan deals before he permanently joined Wolves.

Kane also had his own struggles as he joined Spurs as an 11-year-old, and he initially did not have much impact as at the start of his career, as he spent several years out on loan at Leyton Orient, Norwich City, Leicester City and Millwall. 

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Kane has always been on a mission to prove Arsenal wrong and he has quite successfully done that throughout his career, registering 15 goals in 21 appearances against the Gunners. He often delivered in the north London derby for Tottenham and also played a key role in Bayern's win over Arsenal in the 2023-24 Champions League quarter-finals. In September 2024, Kane had opened up on his motivation to play against his old club as he said: "Yeah, probably throughout my whole career, really. Starting from when I was eight years old being released from Arsenal. That might have built a bit of desire to prove to them when I was that age."

Ahead of the Champions League clash against Mikel Arteta's side on Wednesday, Kane admitted he is worried about Arsenal's set-piece threat and has urged his team-mates to defend carefully.

Kane told reporters: "Of course I follow the Premier League. Arsenal have done well so far in that department. We've prepared for Arsenal as usual. The best thing will be to not give them any set pieces, to control the game - and we need to defend better than we have recently when we do concede set pieces."