Despite the fierce North London rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham, Declan Rice has heaped praise on Harry Kane.
Speaking in a press conference, the Arsenal midfielder said: “You’ll be telling the kids when you’re older you got to play with Harry Kane!”
Rice isn’t just an Arsenal player now—he also came through at West Ham United. Both clubs share heated rivalries with Spurs, yet Rice and Kane have never allowed club loyalties to interfere with their duties for England.
That hasn’t always been the case for the Three Lions; internal club divides were partly blamed for the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ of the 2000s falling short of a major trophy.
Gareth Southgate managed to foster unity within the England squad, leading the team to two European Championship finals and coming agonizingly close to ending the nation’s trophy drought. Now, Thomas Tuchel has been appointed to help push the Three Lions over the line.
Kane and Rice never clashed in a North London derby
Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023—the same window Rice moved from West Ham to Arsenal. As a result, the two never faced each other as direct rivals in North London.
They have, however, met since Rice joined Arsenal, with the Gunners taking on Bayern three times in the Champions League. Kane’s Bayern knocked Arsenal out over two legs in the 2023/24 quarter-finals, but Rice’s side got revenge by beating the German team in last year’s group stage.
Their earlier encounters date back to Kane’s Tottenham and Rice’s West Ham days. Spurs came out on top six times, with three draws and two wins for Rice’s Hammers.
On the international stage, they’ve shared the pitch 69 times for England, combining for four goals. Both started in the Euro finals losses to Italy and Spain, and both were part of the squad that reached the World Cup quarter-finals. This summer, they’ll hope to finally lift a major trophy together.
Rice is right that, in years to come, he’ll look back fondly on having played alongside Kane—a Tottenham and England icon, and the country’s all-time leading scorer.
But Kane might one day say the same about Rice; the Arsenal midfielder has just won a Premier League title and cemented his place among the world’s best in his position.
