Martin Keown has put his Arsenal allegiances aside to back Tottenham legend Harry Kane following scathing criticism from German media.
The England captain has 54 goals in 53 appearances for Bayern Munich but has been hounded over his recent performances, with Bild lambasting his goalless displays against Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa.
Following the 1-0 loss to Villa in the Champions League on Wednesday Bild wrote: “The England star was hardly seen and missed a great header chance to equalise shortly before the end.
“When he returned home [to England], the captain of the English national team remained invisible. Just as he did against Leverkusen. [He] only managed his only shot on goal seconds before the final whistle.”
Despite his strong attachment to north London rivals Arsenal, Gunners legend Keown was quick to defend Kane when discussing his treatment in the German press with Jim White and Troy Deeney.
He said on the White and Jordan show: “I think the German media are having an absolute laugh to be criticising him after what he’s done for Bayern since he’s been there. He isn’t the reason they didn’t win the Bundesliga last year.
“He’s been magnificent. He could’ve got them back into the game against Villa right at the end but Emi Martinez made a great save.
“I find it ridiculous. If he was German he would be lauded and we’d be talking about him for years to come, but in Germany for some reason they want to criticise him. It’s out of order.
“54 goals in 53 games is not someone who is not doing it.”
It has been an unusual time in Germany for Kane – despite netting 36 goals in his debut season it wasn’t enough for Munich, whose streak of 11 successive Bundesliga titles was broken in invincible fashion by Bayer Leverkusen.
That led into a difficult Euros for the England captain, who – despite helping the Three Lions to the final – struggled to link up with his teammates in a way fans had been accustomed to during his iconic career at Spurs.
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When asked about his performances over the summer Keown said: “I think it’s a different matter. He wasn’t at his best and maybe in reflection Gareth Southgate could’ve taken him off sooner.
“Maybe not start him in the last game when Ollie Watkins had already shown he was a worthy starter and for some reason Harry couldn’t find the form in that tournament.
“His performances for Bayern Munich have been top draw.”
Simply put, Kane is a goal machine who has continued to fire under former Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, scoring ten in eight appearances in all competitions this season – including four goals against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
That match saw the 31-year-old overtake Wayne Rooney as the highest English scorer in Champions League history.
In September, Bayern got off to a flying start with 20 goals scored in one week across three games. Eight of those came from Kane.
People were full of praise for Bayern and the forward then, but as we know football narratives change quickly.