How Harry Kane may continue to torment Arsenal

By Shane October 13, 2024

Every story includes a good and a terrible man. In reality, the good person frequently needs the bad guy. Without The Joker, Batman is simply an angry billionaire. Without Darth Vader, Luke is only a farmer. Without Voldemort, Harry would be nothing more than a traumatized nerd with a stick.

The best villains, however, are those who win in the end, despite being defeated. Think Kevin Spacey from Se7en. He is no longer physically there, but his spirit will continue to haunt the heroes from beyond the grave. That, to me, is always the sign of a great villain.

No one in Premier League history has scored more goals against Arsenal than Harry Kane. He is unquestionably the evil guy in our story, and while he may be 700 miles away these days, don’t be shocked if he continues to cause havoc for Arsenal.

Becoming Kane is an English child’s dream, but an aspiring footballer’s nightmare. That is because, despite being one of the most prolific goal scorers of the modern period, he has yet to win a professional football championship.

Arsenal fans can laugh at this fact because it is hilarious, but it will not be funny if we fail to win the Premier League again this season and wonder if one of our best players, particularly Bukayo Saka, is considering his own future in order to avoid beating a dead horse like Kane did for so long.

From amateur to professional, every footballer admires Kane’s brilliance, but no player wants to be the guy who squandered valuable years of their career by winning far less than their abilities warranted. Footballers are addicted to social media in this day and age, and if I’ve seen the flood of jokes and memes about Kane’s failure to win a trophy, so will they.

Saka, for example, has experienced the same grief as Kane in terms of almost achieving international accolades, and while he will still be only 23 years old next summer, don’t be surprised if he examines his future if Arsenal fail to win the league or the Champions League this season.

You might wonder why he’d quit Arsenal. Kane’s long-standing allegiance to Tottenham has demonstrated that there is no benefit in putting your emotions before your brain if it leads nowhere.

Despite being a world-class goalscorer, he is also a joke, a punchline, and, most importantly, a cautionary tale. Where has his allegiance to the Spurs led him? Even his legacy there is tainted because he gave up.

And if Mikel Arteta fails to lead Arsenal to victory in the Premier League or the Champions League this season, Saka – and most likely a few others – may consider putting head before heart and leaving.

Don’t assume that because Saka is just 23, he will instantly be willing to devote more time to the cause. He has made 177 senior appearances for Arsenal and 42 for England. This is his sixth season as a first-team regular, and while he is far from a veteran, he is also far from inexperienced.

This is a player who is prepared to win significant titles. Only last week, he stated, “I believe we’ve gotten close in the last two years and are getting closer, but perhaps this will be the year. In previous years, I’ve frequently finished second place. I want to win this season, and I believe in myself.

He will undoubtedly want to win a major trophy with Arsenal above all else, but this is a tough young man who has already been through a lot in football, and while success with his hometown club would be ideal, overall success will be his objective.

In a slightly different tone, investigate the psychology underlying a bucket list.

Is it about the thrill of jumping, or about avoiding the regret of not doing so? Regret is an intense and powerful emotion. People don’t play the same lottery numbers twice a week because they believe they’ll win; they do it because they can’t bear the notion of missing out if those numbers come up.

There’s little doubt that Kane regrets spending so much time at Spurs, but even if he never scores another goal against Arsenal, he may haunt this club in a more spectral, indirect way if our players learn from his mistakes and cash in their devotion for the pursuit of winning medals somewhere else.
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