Arsenal coach admits he was shocked by what a Tottenham scout told him about Harry Kane

Arsenal coach Dan Buck has revealed that he was once taken aback after chatting with a Tottenham Hotspur scout about Harry Kane.

It is perhaps not overly dramatic to argue that Arsenal‘s chances of making the Champions League semi-finals are primarily dependent on how well they handle Harry Kane when they meet Bayern Munich.

Kane has been excellent for the Bavarian giants, scoring 38 goals in the Bundesliga and Champions League during a difficult season for Thomas Tuchel‘s team.

Given his link to Arsenal’s North London rivals, it would be especially cruel if Kane proved to be the player who knocked them out of the Champions League.

However, it will serve as a reminder of Arsenal’s 2002 decision to let Kane go.

Arsenal coach stunned by Tottenham’s choice on Harry Kane
The 30-year-old worked on the books at Hale End for almost a year. However, as noted by The Athletic, Kane was frequently overshadowed by players such as Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe.

Interestingly, Kane would not join another top-flight team for another few years. Following a brief stay with Watford, the striker joined Tottenham in 2004.

Dan Buck worked alongside Kane at Arsenal. Speaking to The Athletic, he admitted that he was surprised to find that he had signed for Spurs.

“Around that time, I went to do some coaching at Spurs,” he told me. “After Harry left Arsenal, I never heard from him again. But then one of Spurs’ scouts asked, ‘You worked with Harry Kane at Arsenal, didn’t you? We just signed him. I was astonished because when I last saw him, he was really struggling.”

Why is it difficult to condemn Gunners staff for releasing striker?
It’s difficult to fault anyone for not seeing Kane’s potential coming. He scored 14 goals in 56 league appearances over his different loan periods just a few years before his big break at Tottenham.

Nobody could have predicted what a monster he’d become. You would have been laughed at for predicting that he would come close to becoming Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer.

But there is no doubt that Harry Kane‘s story is one of the best to tell those who have been dismissed by one academy.