Tottenham star opens up on experiencing early ‘rejection’ from Arsenal

Harry Kane may be a Tottenham Hotspur legend, but things could have been very different if Arsenal had kept him on their books as a youngster. Kane has now opened up about how it felt to be released by the Gunners at the age of nine.

Aside from a handful of fairly underwhelming loan spells at clubs such as Leyton Orient and Millwall in his early playing days, Kane has been at Tottenham for the duration of his career so far.

Since making his breakthrough in the Spurs first team in the 2014/15 season, Kane has gone on to score 261 goals in 408 appearances in all competitions for the North London side (Transfermarkt).

The 29-year-old is now just five goals away from equaling Jimmy Greaves’ record as the club’s all-time top goalscorer (MyFootballFacts).

Kane is undoubtedly one of the very best players to ever pull on a Spurs shirt, but had Arsenal not released him as a child, he may never have worn the Lilywhite of Tottenham.

Speaking to England Football, Kane explained the effect that rejection had on him and how he feels about the Arsenal situation all these years later.

He said: “After playing at Ridgeway from the ages of five to six, I went to Arsenal for a couple of years from seven to nine before I was then released.

“When I look back on being released, I didn’t think too much about it. They let my parents know and I remember it as clear as day we were walking to the local park and my dad said: ‘Arsenal are letting you go but we are going to go back to Ridgeway and we will carry on doing what we are doing and working hard.'”

Being released didn’t hinder Kane’s passion for the game either, as he explains: “Obviously, I had friends at Arsenal so it was a little disappointing that I wouldn’t be able to play with them but for me at that age, no matter who I was playing for, I just wanted to play football.

“So whilst it was rejection, it was a case of on to the next thing, keep working hard, and seeing what happens.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Arsenal’s loss has very much been Tottenham’s gain, and let’s be honest, for Harry Kane, it was a lucky escape. It just goes to show that you cannot let these rejections define you as a youngster; you have to pick yourself up, keep moving, and greatness can follow.

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