Roy Massey has helped some exceptional talents develop at Arsenal, but he was also responsible for letting Harry Kane slip through his fingers. Now, the former academy coach has explained why that decision was made, and how he feels about it today.
During his time with Arsenal, Massey oversaw the progression of the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe from the academy through to the first team. Admittedly, the Gunners have a pretty prolific pipeline for young talent.
It’s one of the key reasons they are so strong right now, with homegrown talent combined with big-money signings to help Arsenal compete at the top of the Premier League.
Famously, one player Arsenal let go at a young age is Harry Kane. Luckily, he joined Tottenham shortly after, and the rest is history.
Kane went on to become Spurs’ all-time leading goalscorer this year, before leaving the club for Bayern Munich in the summer.
(Photo by Visionhaus)
Why did Arsenal let Harry Kane go?
Speaking to Tribal Football, Massey revealed his thinking behind releasing Kane as a youngster, and discussed how it felt to watch him succeed at Spurs.
He said: “Every time he scored a goal for Tottenham and now for England, I do scratch my head a little bit over what might have happened if he’d have stayed at Arsenal.
“Years ago, before the youth academy at Arsenal started in 1998, you would be looking at lads aged 14 and 15 years of age when they were going through puberty. Academy football came in and then you’re looking at eight-year-olds and how can you tell what an eight-year-old is going to be like by the time he gets to 19 or 20?”
On Kane, he added: “There were several lads in that sort of situation, but of course Harry Kane was exceptional. He was a very quiet lad and probably didn’t have the physical attributes that we thought was needed.
“Obviously, that’s been turned on its head and Harry Kane is one perfect example who proved that at 11 or 12 years of age, he didn’t have the physical qualities, but he gained them as he went through puberty.
“I do remember he was a lovely lad. He was so keen and enthusiastic about his game. And looking back, he had a very good touch on the ball… But… at Arsenal, there were much quicker, stronger lads with bigger personalities. Perhaps he was overshadowed a little bit.”
Contemplating what could have been, Massey suggests things might never have worked out for Kane at Arsenal anyway: “If he’d come in and signed for Arsenal at 16 or 17 in those days, he’d have been competing with Thierry Henry to get in the first team at Arsenal… And maybe he might not have had the chance to continue his career at Arsenal.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I currently coach a bunch of six-year-olds, and the idea of determining which of them could make it as a Premier League player in 15 years time is insane to me.
Mistakes like letting Harry Kane go are always going to happen, as you just cannot predict how a player will develop. Luckily, it all worked out for Spurs in this instance.
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