Arsenal reportedly moved their focus away from Alexandre Lacazette after being told he would cost €50m plus bonuses.

Arsenal fans everywhere had got very excited after learning the club were linked with the player who was missing in France this summer but as we reported, Lyon’s president said that Arsene Wenger didn’t actually want him.

Now, it seems, that it is the price that the Ligue 1 side are asking that is behind Arsenal moving targets.

Working through an intermediary, the club were quoted a deal which totalled around €60m.

Whether or not this is true, it would seem very ‘Arsenal’. As everyone else signs players with seeming ease, Arsenal stutter and stumble around the market with no clear plan.

Of course, this is just the impression we are given because of the angle of press coverage – self-fulfilling reportage that moulds how we see every issue in the world of football.

While it is easy to forget that Arsenal have already signed one big deal in Granit Xhaka, their desperate need for a striker, and their tendency to play a game of brinkmanship in order to get a better deal, has fans more than a little concerned.

Given their track record in the transfer window, that concern is more than a little justified.

Lacazette is 25 and Lyon are hopeful that they will be able to convince him to stay with him for the 16/17 season. He is under contract until 2019.

If they keep asking this much for him, they should have no trouble making sure he stays.