Harry Kane could soon become a Ballon d'Or winner but the England superstar was snubbed by Arsenal as a youngster for two other forwards
Harry Kane is one of the world's finest footballers and a Ballon d'Or front-runner. But the striker was let go by Arsenal at the age of eight in favour of two other sharpshooters.
Bayern Munich and England star Kane is in the form of his life ahead of facing the Gunners in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Since leaving Tottenham - where he became the club's all-time top scorer and a club legend - Kane has dominated in Germany and scored his 102nd league goal in just his 100th game on Saturday.
Overall, for Bayern, he's plundered a staggering 155 goals in 157 games. On top of this, he became England's joint-highest ever appearance maker two weeks ago as he earned his 125th cap. He marked the occasion by scoring his 90th and 91st goals, extending his record tally.
The 33-year-old has fired his way into contention for this year's Ballon d'Or after helping win a Bundesliga title and guiding the Three Lions to a third-place World Cup finish. But before all of these feats were achieved, Kane was passed over by the Gunners.
Although Kane made his name at Spurs, he was once part of Arsenal's academy. Released after just a single season, he eventually arrived at White Hart Lane aged 11 - and the rest is history. So, with Arsenal set to face Kane in the Champions League, Mirror Football takes a look at the two strikers whom they opted to keep over him and at the paths their careers took…
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Ex-Gunners academy coach Dan Buck singled out the two forwards in Kane's age group who trumped him: Benik Afobe and Chuks Aneke. He told The Athletic: "I'd do a session with the under-nines who weren't selected for matches and Harry ended up being with that squad a lot. Benik and Chuks would rock up on a Sunday and score about seven each and poor Harry would get five minutes."
Benik Afobe
Leyton-born Afobe joined the Arsenal set-up in 2001 and spent almost 14 years on their books. He penned his first pro deal in 2010 amid interest from Barcelona and held bags of potential.
Alas, in this time with the club, he only made the matchday squad on occasion as an unused substitute and left in 2015 without playing a single senior game for them.
Instead, Afobe embarked on six separate loan moves during his stint in north London. These started with Huddersfield Town, followed by spells with Reading, Bolton, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday and finally, MK Dons.
Afobe excelled in Milton Keynes and during the 2014/15 season he scored 19 goals in 30 games, including a brace in the Dons' historic 4-0 League Cup drubbing of Manchester United. This scoring streak prompted Wolves to sign him from Arsenal in January 2015 for around £2million.
He enjoyed another purple patch at Molineux before earning a big-money move to Bournemouth in January 2016. Afobe cost the Cherries £10m and across two and a half seasons with them, scored 11 times. But he soon fell down the pecking order and returned to Wolves, helping them secure promotion to the top flight in 2017/18.
Wolves then signed him permanently but immediately shipped him off to Stoke City for a whopping £12m. However, Afobe was unable to live up to the price tag and injuries derailed his time in Staffordshire.
He scored just nine goals in 51 appearances and was loaned out to Bristol City, Trabzonspor and Millwall before leaving for The Den in 2022. Afobe rediscovered a bit of form with the Lions before doing some globetrotting.
Aged 33, he currently plays for United Arab Emirates-based side Gulf United FC, having previously starred in the country for Hatta, Al Dhafra and then Al-Arabi. Afobe has also featured for Qatari outfit Al-Mesaimeer. A far cry from World Cup semi-finals and German league titles…
Chuks Aneke
Unlike Afobe, Aneke did make an appearance for Arsenal. He featured as a late substitute during a 3-1 League Cup victory against Shrewsbury Town in September 2011. The attacker, born in Newham, joined the Gunners' academy ranks at the age of seven and scored two senior goals in friendlies for them, operating as an attacking midfielder.
He departed on four loans from 2011 to 2014, playing for Stevenage, Preston North End and then Crewe Alexandra for two seasons. He was Crewe's top scorer in the 2013/14 season with 16 goals.
Aneke was released by Arsenal in 2014 and signed for Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem. He mustered just five goals in 53 appearances there before scampering back to England, where he joined MK Dons and like Afobe, was transformed.
He scored 33 times across three seasons at Stadium MK after becoming a bruising striker and eventually joined Charlton in 2019. Aneke's career was defined by his tenure at The Valley, split across two spells (2019–2021 and 2022–2025), with a brief stint at Birmingham City sandwiched in between.
Aneke made 138 appearances for Charlton, most as a fan-favourite super-sub, coming off the bench to rescue games with his physicality. He rounded off his playing days with a short chapter at Shrewsbury Town last season before hanging up his boots.
Neither Afobe nor Aneke can say they've mirrored Kane's success, but both have had storied careers in England and abroad. Yet Arsenal, who face Bayern on Wednesday evening, likely regret making a bitter adversary out of Kane when they passed on him. In his 2018 Players' Tribune contribution, he noted that he hasn't forgotten their decision.
Kane said: "It might sound ridiculous - I was only eight when they [Arsenal] let me go - but every time we played them, I thought, 'Alright, we'll see who's right and who's wrong.'"