If you, random Tottenham Hotspur fan, had to pick a person to interview Harry Kane about being a top Premier League striker, you probably wouldn’t have chosen Thierry Henry. The retired Arsenal striker scored 174 goals and is a Gunner legend — they even have a statue of him outside of the Emirates.
But that’s exactly what Soccer AM did in this YouTube video, with Henry visiting Kane at Spurs’ training ground. The results are extremely interesting.
Henry is a very good interviewer — warm, funny, and insightful. His interactions with Kane are interesting not just because it’s two top strikers talking about the game, but because they discuss meaningful things, including the mechanics of scoring goals (top corner vs. bottom corner, body awareness before shooting, etc.).
Henry, who knows a thing or two about scoring goals, even gives Kane advice. He gets Kane to say that he wants to take more free kicks in matches, despite ceding that responsibility to Christian Eriksen, and also to admit that he has Alan Shearer’s record of 260 career Premier League goals firmly in his sights.
Do you think that you can [beat Shearer’s record]?
I think I can. Obviously it’s easy to say that now, and a lot can happen between now and then.
But it’s good to say that NOW, because then you can say “I said it.”
Of course! No, I think I can. I think about how I have 69 goals now and another 190 more or so but... I back myself. I’ve never backed down from a challenge. I have full belief in myself and my abilities and hopefully it’s a target that I can reach.
The Arsenal-Spurs rivalry is the elephant in the room, and both Kane and Henry address it, but there’s a genuine respect and warmth between these two players that’s really fun to watch. It’s worth watching the whole video to see these two interact outside of the bounds of sports rivalry.