Harry Kane took a goal-kick. That is the line from Bayern Munich's 2-2 draw with Arsenal that people will keep repeating, and it is a strange thing to say about a striker who is being talked up as the frontrunner for the 2026 Ballon d'Or. With fewer than 25 minutes gone, Arsenal were set to defend a Bayern goal-kick, and Kane grabbed the ball and sent an 80-yard pass up the pitch that almost put his side in front.
A striker with the freedom to roam
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha told BBC Sport that Kane has been given a level of trust under Vincent Kompany that he has probably never had before. Nobody, Onuoha pointed out, had ever seen him take a goal-kick, yet even Manuel Neuer put the ball down, thought "sure", and let him get on with it. Bayern players were already running forward because they knew where it might go. Onuoha added that you would not want your number nine that deep very often, but the way Kane plays for Bayern, roaming everywhere, it worked.
The assist and the penalty
He was not finished. After Eberechi Eze put Arsenal ahead, Kane bent a lovely pass around Jurrien Timber for Alphonso Davies to finish and level the game. Midway through the second half he put Bayern in front from the penalty spot, which took his career tally against Arsenal to 16. Declan Rice then struck late to earn the visitors a point. Kane finished with 40 touches, a modest number that tells you how much he did with so few of them.
The goal also made him only the second player in Champions League history to score in 10 consecutive matches. The other is Cristiano Ronaldo, who managed 11 in a row for Real Madrid between June 2017 and April 2018. His strike against Arsenal was his 156th for Bayern in 158 appearances since he left Tottenham in 2023.
Where the Ballon d'Or race stands
Kane, 33, was named on the 30-man shortlist in September. The winner will be announced on Monday after a vote by an international jury of 100 journalists, with the ceremony in London. If he wins, he would be the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001. Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Paris St-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele, the current holder, are among the favourites.
Rice, who had just been on the other end of Kane's night, did not hold back. "He is the clear winner," the Arsenal midfielder told TNT Sports, calling him ridiculous and saying it is much more annoying to play against him than with him. Kane himself kept it modest. It would be amazing to win, he said, but the voting closed long ago and there is nothing left to do but wait.
Player facts: Harry Kane, 33, Bayern Munich and England. Scored a penalty and assisted Alphonso Davies in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Arsenal on 21 October 2026. 156 goals in 158 Bayern appearances. Ballon d'Or winner to be announced on Monday in London.
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