With just a little hint of envy, Wenger hails the one got away

LONDON - The praise for the goalscoring feats of Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane has been the headline of the festive soccer schedule so far as even Arsene Wenger, manager of the club that let him out of its grasp, joined in on Wednesday.

Arsenal boss Wenger once admitted to being "a bit angry" when he learned how his club had let a nine-year-old Kane leave after a year in the Gunners' junior ranks, only for the boy to become a phenomenon for their nearest and biggest rival.

Yet, after Kane became Europe's premier marksman of the year on Tuesday with his 56th goal of 2017 in Spurs' 5-2 thrashing of Southampton, even Wenger was in the mood to salute the one that got away up to the other end of London's Seven Sisters Road.