Against Arsenal, Harry Kane was once again close to perfection. And once again, a new element emerged.
Sometimes even a seasoned professional allows for a bit of humour, although if it hadn’t been Harry Kane, it might almost have sounded arrogant. “The goal kick or the assist?” the Bayern player asked back with a smile after being questioned about his outstanding pass. And indeed, the counter-question was justified, because whilst there was that one particularly brilliant moment, there were also many others.
What Kane produced on the pitch against Arsenal on Wednesday evening once again showcased much (or almost all) of what makes him so special – at the very latest whilst wearing the Bayern Munich shirt (for Bundesliga observers) – and very little of what he actually used to be or was supposed to be. Anyone who happened to tune in for the first time on Wednesday evening would hardly have thought to classify Harry Kane as a striker.
Against Arsenal, at any rate, the number 9 was given every freedom he could have wished for. With both Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise absent, virtually every creative responsibility fell to Bayern’s all-rounder. And this time, the already rather curious picture became even more so: Kane working in a back three to win the ball back whilst keeping an eye on right-winger Madueke. Kane, winning and distributing the ball in midfield. Kane, setting up Bayern’s first chance with a goal kick (!).
“It’s not the intention for Harry to turn up as a sweeper at some point, but it can happen from time to time,” sporting director Max Eberl said later, although that goal kick must surely have taken him by surprise, at the very least. Incidentally, it wasn’t the first time Kane had turned up in this role. Well, it was for Bayern, mind you, but at Tottenham in 2014 he once stepped in for the sent-off Hugo Lloris in a Europa League match against Asteras Tripolis, pulled on the goalkeeper’s gloves after scoring a hat-trick – and conceded a goal.
On Wednesday, his goal kick almost led to Bayern taking a 1–0 lead, had Serge Gnabry been a little more accurate with his finish following a move involving Alphonso Davies and Ismael Saibari. This almost-perfect attack didn’t seem planned; rather, it looked like pure intuition when the ball went out of play following an Arsenal corner, Kane spotted it and simply reacted quickly.
“I feel like I can see images on the pitch,” Kane explained when asked – and there’s no reason to doubt him. “Before the match, I said to Phonzy: ‘When I’ve got the ball, make your runs, and I’ll try to find you.’” That worked not only from the goal kick, but also before the 1–1 equaliser, when Kane, coming in from deep, glanced briefly and played a perfectly timed ball “into a space” “that doesn’t exist”, as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta so aptly put it.
Oh, and by the way: Kane went on to score himself later on, in his tenth consecutive Champions League match. But that’s now more of a side note – and the basis for new statistical analyses: according to Opta, Kane is the first player since detailed data recording began in 2003/04 to score a goal, provide an assist and take a goal kick in the Champions League.