da blaze casino： The England skipper will have his entire season at stake when he comes back to his old rivals' home on Tuesday
da prosport bet： John Obi Mikel knew. After the Chelsea icon pulled out Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final opponents at the draw last month, a hint of a wry smile appeared on his face.
On paper, the Gunners should have been fairly happy with Mikel. Bayern Munich are far from the force they once were, and Arsenal managed to avoid trickier ties against Real Madrid and Manchester City.
However, as the Nigerian's priceless reaction suggested, this particular tie comes with irresistible added spice. Indeed, a sizeable proportion of Gunners fans will have broken into cold sweats when they saw Bayern's name pop out as they knew it meant that one of the club's most troublesome adversaries would be returning to his old stomping ground.
Harry Kane became synonymous with the north London derby during his lengthy spell at Tottenham, scoring against his fiercest rivals on countless occasions. Now, he has the chance to break Gunners hearts all over again when his new team visit the Emirates on Tuesday.
Getty ImagesThe King of North London?
Kane will have a long list of fond memories to draw on when he does take the field again at Arsenal's home. On his very first visit to the Emirates in a Spurs shirt, he netted a fine goal, bouncing the ball over Petr Cech's legs after being sent clean through by Danny Rose's long pass.
This display set the tone for Kane's visits to N7, with the England skipper failing to score on just two of his eights league trips to Arsenal while at Tottenham. He also notched an assist when Spurs bested the Gunners 2-0 in the EFL Cup quarter-finals away from home.
And while he couldn't replicate this in the Premier League – failing to ever inspire his side to a Premier League triumph at the Emirates – Kane had plenty of success downing Arsenal on his own patch.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesDream derby debut
This impressive knack started on his maiden north London derby appearance back in 2015. At that point, Kane had only just begun to establish himself as a Premier League player. Beginning the season playing second fiddle to Emmanuel Adebayor, Mauricio Pochettino was suitably encouraged by a string of substitute camoes to give him a run in the first team.
By the time Arsenal came to town in February, he already had 10 Premier League goals to his name, including a fine brace and assist when Chelsea visited White Hart Lane. This provided a warning as to what he would get up to against the Gunners.
Within five minutes he forced David Ospina into a world-class save with a trademark, curling shot from just outside the box. And after Mesut Ozil rather fortuitously put Arsenal ahead soon after, it was Kane who led the fightback, levelling up the scores with an instinctive finish at the back post on the hour. He would then settle the derby, rising triumphantly to nod Erik Lamela's cross into the top corner with just four minutes of normal time remaining.
Getty ImagesRecord-breaker
Reflecting on his derby debut several years later in an interview with the , Kane recalled: "The winner in the 86th minute was something that I'd never even dream of visualising before a match. It was a header – probably the best header I've ever scored – and that feeling when it hit the back of the net, I've never felt a rush like that in my whole career."
Kane would soon get used to ruining Arsenal's day, though. The following season, he would net in each of the pair's Premier League meetings, which both ended in draws. Then, in 2018, Kane avenged his first-ever north London derby defeat a few months prior by scoring the winner in the return fixture – another unstoppable header.
As the seasons dragged on, the England captain continued in this vein, with his goal in a 2-0 victory over Arsenal in 2020 being particularly special, moving him above Adebayor and Bobby Smith as the fixture's all-time top scorer. By the time he departed for Bayern a few years later, he had an outstanding 14 goals to his name against the Gunners, with only Leicester and Everton conceding more Kane strikes to date.
Alternate timeline
That Spurs' talisman consistently raised his game against his beloved side's bitterest rivals is hardly surprising. However, there is also a personal side to Kane's spiteful relationship with the Gunners.
As a nine year old, he was released by Arsenal, something that Kane has confessed to still using as motivation to this day.
Speaking back in 2018, he said: "I remember the first time we played against Arsenal [for Tottenham's academy team] and even back then, I had a chip on my shoulder. It might sound ridiculous. I was only eight when they let me go, but every time we played them, I thought, 'Alright, we'll see who's right and who's wrong'.
"Looking back on it now, [being released by Arsenal] was probably the best thing that ever happened to me because it gave me a drive that wasn't there before. For me, the rejection is the best thing that ever happened to me."
In a not-so-inconceivable alternate timeline, Kane might have even been playing in an Arsenal shirt on Tuesday, which always adds another layer of intrigue whenever he lines up against the Gunners. And that's not the only interesting plotline ahead of this Champions League quarter-final.