What if: Harry Kane had stayed at Arsenal

In May 2004, a 10-year-old boy from Chingford, London dyed his hair red and joined Arsenal fans as they celebrated the invincibles' title parade. He had joined the Arsenal youth academy when he was 8 years old but was released after just one season. A few months later, he joined the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy – and went on to make sure the Gunners regretted their decision.

On 15 April 2017, Harry Kane became the fourth player in Premier League history to score 20 goals in three consecutive seasons, after Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Meanwhile, Wenger has been busy trying out Giroud, Sanchez and Walcott one after the other in the Centre Forward position, in an effort to coax the best out of his team.

One can imagine Wenger would have loved to have Kane. After Robin van Persie left in 2012, that gap has never been truly filled; Harry Kane could have made a seamless transition as the team's spearhead in attack.

How different would the football world be if Kane had stayed at Arsenal? In this edition of our 'What-if' series, we examine precisely that – read on to find out:

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#5 There would be no Leicester magic

With Harry Kane in their ranks, Arsenal could have taken advantage of off-seasons for the Manchester clubs and Chelsea

Leicester's Premier League title success of 2016 is one of the most incredible achievements in sporting history. But the ardent premier league fans among us know that the true underlying story was one of simultaneous underachievement by all of the league's big guns.

81 points would not have been enough to clinch the title in any of the previous five seasons, let alone clinch it by 10 points.

With Harry Kane in their ranks, Arsenal could have taken advantage of off-seasons for the Manchester clubs and Chelsea. After all, it's not like the points tally required to win the title was enormous; Arsenal themselves had accrued a points tally of 79 just a couple of seasons before.

A ruthless finisher like Harry Kane could have made all the difference between losses and draws and between draws and victories. Arsenal would have clinched their first league title since 2004, and we would not have had a fairytale story worth remembering for generations.

#4 Louis van Gaal would see out his contract

Van Gaal had never pretended that he was in at Manchester United for the long haul

In May 2016, Manchester United announced that Louis van Gaal was to leave the club with immediate effect. By then, the news did not come across as a surprise. But it was painful to see such a glorious managerial career coming to an unceremonious end.

Van Gaal had never pretended that he was in at Manchester United for the long haul, but he had insisted on occasions that he would see out his 3-year contract.

Ed Woodward himself would have wanted things to be different but had his hand forced by Manchester United's failure to make the top four. A club like United has enormous pressure to be Champions League regulars; from the sponsors, the marketing partners and of course the fans.

In the absence of Harry Kane, however, Tottenham wouldn't be quite so formidable a prospect; and United could have taken their place in the top four. In that case, Van Gaal would have stayed for one more year to see out his contract – and the managerial giant could have had the sendoff he deserves for all his contributions to football.

#3 Tottenham would still be a Europa League club

The emergence of Harry Kane has slowly propelled Spurs up the table

Around the turn of the decade, Tottenham were Europa League regulars. Even when they finished fourth in 2012, Chelsea's champions league win meant they had to settle for qualification to Europa.

From 2011 to 2015, Tottenham continued to consistently qualify for the Europa League under different managers – neither big enough a club for Champions League cameos, nor small enough for mid table mediocrity.

The emergence of Harry Kane has slowly propelled them up the table. Of course, a certain Mauricio Pochettino has had a lot of say in it too, but Kane is the first real superstar Tottenham have had since the days of Gareth Bale.

Without him, Pochettino would still field a commendable set of brave young players – but they might lack the stardust to turn them into a Champions League club from a Europa League club.

#2 Wenger would retire – and go on to manage England

England, having just fired Sam Allardyce, would come calling

With the long coveted Premier League title won again, Wenger would choose the opportune moment to finally leave the club he loves. He would then be focused on finding a suitable successor; to avoid repeating the mistakes United made in the post-Ferguson era.

Once it all settles down, however, Wenger will look back with satisfaction upon a long and complete career.

England, having just fired Sam Allardyce, would come calling. Having forged by then a close working relationship with several English youngsters like Kane, Walcott, Ox etc, Wenger would decide to try his hand in management at international level. It would be quite a coup for England; their first top level managerial appointment in several years.

It would have been fascinating to see how England would fare in WC 2018. For once, they would not embarrass themselves; at least it would take more than a country with the population of Roy Hodgson's hometown to beat them!

#1 Managerial merry-go-round

Pochettino could have moved to United had Kane stayed at the London Colney

With Harry Kane's emergence, Arsenal would think twice before moving for Sanchez in 2014. After all, they would then have bigger concerns in defence and midfield to address, rather than stockpile more attackers into their squad. As a result, Sanchez would move to Liverpool – and Rodgers would successfully keep his job for a few more years with improved results in the league.

Wenger would try to induce Klopp to Emirates. He would most probably succeed as well since all other top clubs have managers in place at that time. With Van Gaal still at Manchester United, Mourinho would move to PSG; it is quite unlikely that he will sit out of football for an extended period waiting for Van Gaal's contract to end.

When Van Gaal's contract expires, United would move for the promising young Spurs manager Pochettino, thus lending a completely different look to the managerial landscape of Premier League football.