Harry Kane knows Tottenham Hotspur fans will be hoping Bayern Munich can knock Arsenal out of the Champions League but attempted to play down any extra motivation ahead of the quarter-final second leg.
The England captain enjoyed a fine scoring record against Wednesday’s opponents while playing for rivals Tottenham, before swapping north London for Germany last summer.
He scored against them again in the 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium last week to leave the tie delicately poised ahead of the second leg.
Kane is well aware of how much an Arsenal defeat would mean to the supporters of his former club but is instead fully focused on helping his new side reach the last four.
“I think for me personally, I think it’s something that probably built up more from the outside, from the media, from the fans, rather than me myself,” he said.
“Of course, I have a lot of history with Arsenal, playing for Spurs for so many years, that North London derby was probably the biggest game of the season every year in the Premier League.
Kane boasts an impressive record against Arsenal (Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
“But for me here, it’s a different chapter, it’s a different moment for me, I’m playing for a different team. My focus is on trying to beat a really good side in Arsenal.
“Of course, I know there will be a lot of Spurs fans watching tomorrow, hoping that Bayern go through, but I can’t focus on that. All I can do is try and beat the team in front of us, and that’s Arsenal.”
Kane came within 90 minutes of winning the Champions League with Tottenham back in 2019 only to fall to defeat to Liverpool in the final.
Asked if he has unfinished business in the tournament, he said: “Yeah, for sure, whenever you reach the final of a competition and don’t quite get over the line there’s always that burning fire inside you to get back there and go that one step further.
“We have an opportunity this year and with a big moment tomorrow and if we can take that step tomorrow night then we’re only as couple of games away from trying to get to Wembley, It’s still in the distance at the moment, it may come around quick but all my focus is on tomorrow and that’s all I can do.
“All I can do is to put in my best performance, help the team’s best performance and then step by step we can try and reach our goals.”
GO DEEPER
Harry Kane, the Arsenal years
(Leonhard Simon/Getty Images)
