Paul Merson says Arsenal should buy Harry Kane in a bid to solve their striker crisis.
The Gunners were toothless in their 2-0 defeat at Newcastle in their EFL Cup semi-final second leg last night, Kai Havertz struggling to make an impact while the home side’s Alexander Isak – a player repeatedly linked with Arsenal – produced a brilliant display.
However, with Newcastle unlikely to sell Isak, Mikel Arteta will have to shop around to bolster his attacking options and Merson believes 31-year-old Kane could be the answer.
The former Tottenham captain joined Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023 and has continued to score goals at an impressive rate, netting 70 times in 72 games for the Bundesliga leaders.
Kane has escape clause – report
A report in Sport BILD yesterday claimed the England international has a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to move in the January window for £66.5million.
And while no club thought that viable, his clause drops to 54m in 12 months’ time.
“Arsenal will buy him” 👀
Paul Merson on Harry Kane’s release clause and a potential return to the Premier League. pic.twitter.com/bv8oYAWNTA
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 6, 2025
And Merson said: “Arsenal will buy him, why not?
“If he’s available, you have to weigh it up. People will go he’s this age, he’s that age but Arsenal need now. If Arsenal don’t win the league, you have to take a chance, buy someone that’s proven. I wouldn’t be surprised.
“If he’s going to go for £64m, there’s only a couple of teams that can buy him. Manchester City won’t buy him, [and] if you believe what you read that Manchester United wouldn’t pay the loan fee for [Mathys] Tel, then that’s worrying, and then Tottenham.
“He’ll have to win something at Bayern, because he’s not going to go back to Tottenham to win nothing.”
Kane tantalisingly short of Shearer’s record
Kane scored 213 goals during his time at Spurs and left just 47 shy of Alan Shearer’s all-time record.
And Merson believes the opportunity to break that mark could be a deciding factor in whether he moves back to England.
He added: “It’d be a big move and if he doesn’t believe he can beat Alan Shearer’s record then I don’t really see the point in coming back.”
