Mauricio Pochettino says he's actually so glad Arsenal beat Tottenham to £16m signing

Arsenal fans will be quietly thankful that Mauricio Pochettino left Tottenham in 2019, as the Lilywhites haven’t been the same since.

Spurs are currently flirting with a relegation battle, as the 2025/26 calendar is offering an end to the season that has only ever been evident in Arsenal fans’ dreams.

Arsenal could win the league, and Tottenham could get relegated; it’s mathematically possible yet inconceivable.

It wasn’t long ago that Spurs celebrated finishing above Arsenal for six years in a row, a time when the North London Derby was at its peak, mostly thanks to Harry Kane and Pochettino’s input.

Which Tottenham manager’s era did you enjoy most as an Arsenal fan?

Is it Frank's right now? 😅

Mauricio Pochettino reveals how Arsenal assisted Harry Kane’s rise at Tottenham

Even Thierry Henry didn’t score as many North London Derby goals as Kane, who netted 14 times against the Gunners as a Spurs player.

Arsenal would’ve been delighted to see the striker leave to sign for Bayern Munich in 2023, as few players have inflicted damage on the North Londoners like Kane did.

Fascinatingly, it’s actually Arsenal who are to blame for Kane’s dominance at Spurs.

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How? You are undoubtedly asking.

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Pochettino revealed that if it wasn’t for Arsenal signing Danny Welbeck, Kane’s chance at Spurs might’ve never come.

“We had Adebayor, Soldado and Harry Kane was going to be our third striker. But the club wasn’t sure about Harry Kane’s future,” Pochettino explained.

“We were so lucky because the club made an offer for Danny Welbeck at Manchester United, but Olivier Giroud got injured, and Arsenal made another offer, a bigger offer, and Welbeck signed for Arsenal.

“I was lucky because we weren’t able to buy Welbeck, [it] meant there was space for Harry Kane to be the third striker. That day, we realised the universe was with us. I was lucky to keep Harry Kane.”

Football is a funny game, as who would’ve thought that Arsenal’s £16m purchase of Welbeck inadvertently awarded Spurs their best ever striker, who netted 280 goals in N17.

Arsenal left Harry Kane with a chip on his shoulder

Welbeck’s transfer facilitated Kane’s rise at Tottenham, but that wasn’t the only influence Arsenal had on the Englishman’s career.

Kane was famously released from Arsenal’s academy as a child, something he later described as ‘the best thing that ever happened’ to him.

Fill the blanks, it’ll be __ years until Tottenham next finish above Arsenal.

“I remember the first time we played against Arsenal, and even back then, I had a chip on my shoulder,” Kane wrote for The Players’ Tribune in 2018.

“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, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me, because it gave me a drive that wasn’t there before.”

It was almost ironic that, after having his childhood heart broken by Arsenal, he was fuelled enough to become a Spurs legend.

As I stated, football is a funny game, with Arsenal’s impact on Kane’s career an instance of such.

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