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How Harry Kane's Premier League scoring slump compares to his previous droughts

How Harry Kane's Premier League scoring slump compares to his previous droughts
© Reuters
The prolific Tottenham striker is yet to get off the mark in the league this season.

Harry Kane has gone five Premier League games without a goal for only the fifth time in his career after Tottenham's defeat to Arsenal.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Kane's longest scoreless runs to assess how his current slump compares.

August 2012 to March 2014 – eight games

Harry Kane shows frustration during an appearance on loan for Norwich
Harry Kane spent time on loan at Norwich early in his career (Daniel Hambury/PA)

Making his current woes all the more noteworthy, Kane's first two 'droughts' of at least this length came early in his career before he had established himself with Spurs – indeed, the first took in three games on loan at Norwich aged 19.

The 168 minutes he played included only one start, for the Canaries against West Ham in January 2013, and seven substitute appearances – four of them under 10 minutes, including a 90th-minute entrance in place of Emmanuel Adebayor in Spurs' draw with Hull in February 2014.

April to October 2014 – eight games

Harry Kane, centre, celebrates after finally scoring his first goal of the 2014-15 season
Harry Kane, centre, celebrates after finally scoring his first goal of the 2014-15 season (David Davies/PA)

Having scored his first three Premier League goals in consecutive appearances in April 2014, Kane played the final three games of that season – two from the start – without adding to his tally.

At the start of the 2014-15 campaign, he played second fiddle to Adebayor and was scoreless in five substitute appearances totalling barely an hour before November 2's last-minute winner at Aston Villa marked the first of his 21 league goals that season.

August to September 2015 – six games

Crystal Palace's Damien Delaney shields the ball from Kane, right, in 2015
Crystal Palace kept Kane, right, at bay to make it six games without a goal in 2015 (Paul Harding/PA)

Kane's curious record of never scoring in a league game in August continued until 2018, with his lengthiest droughts since becoming a regular starter occurring in that early-season timeframe.

At the start of the 2015-16 campaign, he was held scoreless in six successive starts against Manchester United, Stoke – the only time in that run he did not complete 90 minutes – Leicester, Everton, Sunderland and Crystal Palace before breaking his duck in a 4-1 win over Manchester City on September 26. He went on to score 25 league goals and finish as Premier League top scorer.

May to September 2016 – five games

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane (left) and Liverpool's Dejan Lovren battle for the ball in 2016
Liverpool added to Kane's woes in 2016 (Steve Paston/PA)

Kane retained the Golden Boot with 29 the following season but again, it took him into September to open his account as he and Spurs started slowly.

Having failed to score in defeats to Southampton and Newcastle to end the previous season in May 2016, he was also shut out by Everton, Palace and Liverpool as Spurs won only one game in that sequence and Kane played all bar the final seven minutes against Liverpool.

August to September 2021 – five games

Harry Kane, centre, shows his frustration during Tottenham's derby defeat to Arsenal
Harry Kane, centre, shows his frustration during Sunday's derby defeat (Nick Potts/PA)

After a summer of transfer speculation linking him with Manchester City, Kane began his season as a substitute for the final 18 minutes against Wolves before returning to the starting XI against Watford, Palace, Chelsea and Arsenal without success.

He had five shots on the Gunners' goal this weekend but only one on target and still has only nine total attempts this season – ranking joint-57th in the Premier League alongside eight other players including Liverpool defender Joel Matip.

Another scoreless start means his first league goal will now come no earlier than October and it is more than 150 Premier League games since he last went this long without scoring, though he has netted in the Carabao Cup and Europa Conference League.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


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