Harry Kane sets up date with Tottenham destiny ahead of Arsenal showdown

From Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Harry Kane is now just one goal away from becoming Tottenham's all-time leading scorer.

The England captain grabbed his 265th goal for the club in Saturday's 1-0 win against Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup, moving to within one strike of Jimmy Greaves' club record that has stood for over five decades.

It's a milestone that has been discussed in Spurs circles since it became clear he was the real deal (c. New Year's Day 2015 following a cracking brace against Chelsea). When it was evident Kane would spend his prime years in N17 - bar a brief Manchester City saga in 2021 - it then evolved into a matter of when and not if.

Kane's place in Tottenham history will soon be immortalised, a just reward for his years of service and standing as one of the world's leading players. He's even managed to prolong his career when injuries threatened to derail it and has reinvented himself as the most complete forward in the game.

His latest goal in Spurs colours was one which echoed back to his younger years breaking into the side, picking out the far corner from 20 yards. But the speed with which he took it and the cleanness of the strike - scything through the air at a perfect trajectory, maintaining a constant height as it hurtled towards the middle of the far-hand corner - was typical quick-thinking action-taking Kane, not too dissimilar to his first goal in his aforementioned breakout against Chelsea eight years ago.

Kane has the chance to level and break Greaves' record in the biggest game of Spurs' season - their home north London derby against Arsenal.

The mood of Spurs' season has definitely been soured by the Gunners' progression to Premier League table toppers and title contenders. When Tottenham ran riot against Mikel Arteta's men back in May 2022 and pipped them to fourth place, they looked better positioned to make that leap.

Arsenal's lead atop the standings was cut to five points earlier this week and the increasing mutiny at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will make life very difficult for players, manager and board members alike if they head back down Seven Sisters Road with all three points.

Kane, Tottenham's player of the season so far by a million miles, will be at the heart of their efforts to make life miserable for Arsenal, to send them back to Islington scared about blowing their title chances, to breathe fresh life into his side's flailing campaign in danger of implosion. And all the while, he could write his name into the Spurs records with permanent ink on a page of his own.

If there's one thing Kane loves as much as scoring goals, it's scoring them against Arsenal - he is the all-time leader in north London derbies. As he's detailed aplenty, he's spent his whole career trying to prove them wrong, and there'd hardly be a sweeter way to celebrate with a match-winning contribution next Sunday.

It's not just in Spurs' interests for Kane to break the record against Arsenal, but in their needs.