In the Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Bayern Munich, England striker Harry Kane faced off against the Gunners. Kane, who has scored 14 goals in 19 games against Arsenal, plus one assist, had a remarkable 32 goals and seven assists in 28 Bundesliga appearances so far. He has the chance to break Robert Lewandowski's record for most goals in a single season, which the Pole set with 41 in 2020-21.
Bayern as a team has struggled under much-maligned coach Thomas Tuchel, who is leaving the club at the end of the season. The team is set to miss out on the Bundesliga title for the first time in 11 seasons, with Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen running rampant and the team being stunned by third-division FC Saarbrücken in the second round of the German Cup. This leaves the Champions League as Bayern's only remaining chance of silverware this season as Kane seeks to win the first trophy of his career.
Kane was all smiles during the warmup on Tuesday night, clearly relishing once again being behind enemy lines. However, any Arsenal fans watching the Bayern warmup will likely have been experiencing an ominous sense of déjà vu after Kane's first shot –- on his weaker left foot –– kissed the underside of the crossbar on its way towards the top corner. Unsurprisingly, the first announcement of the Bayern line-up 15 minutes before kick off drew a deep chorus of boos around the stadium when Kane's name was read out, prompting the night's first chants of “Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal!”.
With a second former Spurs man in Eric Dier also starting for Bayern, there were certainly plenty of opportunities for Arsenal fans to boo, something they did fervently all game any time one of those two players was on the ball. While Bayern has struggled domestically this season, the team has stepped it up at times in the Champions League and some of its best performances so far this season have come in Europe.
Ahead of the game, Tuchel sounded confident that Kane would extend his incredible record against Arsenal. He had thrived on it many times now so I don't think he will stop tomorrow. Kane scoring from the penalty spot always felt inevitable to both men.
Aside from Saka's opener and Leandro Trossard's equalizer to make it 2-2, one of the loudest moments of the night came early in the second half when Kane was shown a yellow card for catching Gabriel with his arm. Tuchel said that Kane was very, very strong today and accepted every challenge and physical fight.
Kane's ability as a playmaker and being a ruthless goalscorer became increasingly evident in his final years at Tottenham. He deployed his skill again on Tuesday, threading an outrageous first-time pass through the Arsenal defence and into Kingsley Coman's path, with the Frenchman not even having to break stride.