Eze revealed that the best player he has ever played with was 'released' by Arsenal.

24/10/2025 18:39:00 SportScoop

Eberechi Eze surprisingly stated that the finest player he has ever played with is Harry Kane, who was cut from Arsenal’s youth academy when he was a child.

Eze was once part of Arsenal’s youth setup but was released as a teenager. He admitted to “crying for a whole week” after leaving the club he loved. However, last summer, the unfinished dream finally came true when Eze officially joined Arsenal’s first team, marking a fairy-tale-like comeback in real life.

During a talk with students at John Roan School in Greenwich, Eze was asked about the best player he had ever played with. Without hesitation, the English midfielder replied: “That’s Harry Kane. He’s really excellent at what he does, scoring goals.” This statement surprised many because Kane – the legendary Tottenham goal scorer now playing for Bayern Munich – was once a failed product of Arsenal’s own academy.

In the exchange, Eze revealed that Harry Kane is the best player he has ever been teammates with

As a child, Kane wore Arsenal’s youth jersey and dreamed of playing for their first team. However, at age 12, he was released from the academy. According to stories, Kane even asked to switch to goalkeeper just to stay at Arsenal, but was still rejected. This mistake later became one of the biggest regrets in Arsenal’s youth development history, as Kane grew into one of the world’s best strikers.

Eze and Kane were teammates for England, where Eze witnessed firsthand the peak performance of the 1993-born striker. He openly admires the senior player, who has scored hundreds of goals and is now a top star in the Bundesliga.

Kane once requested to become a goalkeeper to remain at Arsenal at age 12 but was still turned down

Eze’s story also inspires many young players. After being released by Arsenal, he wandered through several smaller clubs before shining at Queens Park Rangers, then moving to Crystal Palace, and now Arsenal – the club he once dreamed of playing for. The journeys of Eze and Kane show that not every failure is the end; sometimes it’s just the beginning of a brighter path.

Coincidentally, Arsenal’s current squad also includes many resilient stars. New signing Viktor Gyokeres – who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP – boldly claimed he is “on the same level as Kane, Haaland, and Lewandowski.” The arrival of Gyokeres along with Eze’s development gives Arsenal a powerful attack for the new season.

From a boy released by the academy to a star wearing the jersey of his former club, Eze has come full circle in his career. Interestingly, in his eyes, the best player he ever partnered with is Harry Kane – another “former” who was once cast aside by Arsenal.

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