Arsenal rejected me at age of eight, says Harry Kane

There has long been a rumour among football fans that Harry Kane is secretly an Arsenal supporter in disguise after he was pictured in the club’s kit as a youngster.

More often than not, these rumours come from the red side of north London in a bid to wind up their rivals by claiming that Kane wasn’t in fact ‘one of their own’.

And, after writing in The Players’ Tribune, the England striker has finally put those rumours to bed.

The 24-year-old did in fact play for the Gunners as a kid but was released at the age of eight before it became something serious.

Since then, Kane has always had a ‘chip on his shoulder’ when it comes to playing Arsene Wenger’s men, just so he can prove the club were wrong to let him go.

“It might sound ridiculous but every time we played them, I thought, “Alright, we’ll see who’s right and who’s wrong”.

“For me, the rejection is the best thing that ever happened to me. When I was lacing my boots for my first start in the north London derby back in 2015, I had a flashback to when I was 11, playing against Arsenal’s youth team. It was like deja vu.

“We were in the tunnel, and I thought, “OK. Took me 12 years. But we’ll see who was right and who was wrong”.’

Kane went on to score twice that day in 2015 and win the game against Spurs’ rivals with a late header.

His rejection at Arsenal isn’t the only thing that lit a fire in his belly. His failed loan spell at Leicester and Tom Brady’s story as an unwanted quarterback continues to push Kane to be better.

After digging in following his loan spells at Millwall, Norwich and at Leicester, Kane reached the huge milestone of scoring 100 Premier League goals having scored a penalty in the dying moments against Liverpool on Sunday.

Kane success wasn’t without the help of manager and ‘close friend’ Mauricio Pochettino.

“One of my fondest memories in football is when I scored a hat-trick a few seasons ago and Mauricio called me into his office after the match.

“He’s got his arm around me, with his glass of wine in the other hand, and we’re taking a photo. It was brilliant. That was the first time I thought, “Wow, this is a special person”. He’s a fantastic, fantastic man. I respect him as a manager and as a boss, of course — but he’s really my friend outside of football, as well.

“He’s the reason why our squad has become so close — we’re genuine mates, and I think that’s rare in football nowadays. ‘

That’s Kane’s next goal — lifting the Premier League title. The striker has come close twice and the Englishman says without hesitation that he would trade in his next 100 strikes to finish first.

“I close my eyes and I picture myself lifting the Premier League trophy at our new stadium with my mates. I’d trade the next 100 goals for that feeling.’

Culled from dailymail.co.uk