If I followed up every rumour, it’d be a full time job in itself. That’s why Daily Cannon has people to do it for us, so we can see all the rubbish in one place with the truth about the rumour laid bare.

More to life

Arsenal.com love a quiz at the moment.

Can you answer these ten questions about Lacazette? No, as it happens I can’t!

I’ve heard of him, of course, even before we captured his signature this summer.

More than heard of him.

Partly that’s because we’ve been linked with him every summer for the last decade or so, but he’s also a French international, and they’re pretty good (barring meltdowns), so I take that as a good sign.

No, I’m pretty excited about him joining – it’s a far cry from the Yaya Sanogo “diamond in the rough” type signing which we’ve had to try to get excited about in many summers, for want of an actual signing of note.

But there’s still a reason I know very little about our latest signing – I already devote most of my waking hours to following Premier League football without expanding into other countries. And when the summer rolls around, I try to make up for all the things I neglect to a lesser or greater extent during the season.

After all, I have a husband, a puppy and a mortgage to pay which (un)fortunately require care, attention and going out to work.

That means I won’t research a player until they’re nailed on to join, otherwise I’d go crazy.

Next, silly season

Silly season

Of course the media link us with everyone. Literally everyone. You’d almost think it’s because we have a huge online fanbase, the biggest of any Premier League club, and therefore offer the most clicks.

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are in for the latest Brazilian wonderkid? So are Arsenal of course.

Everton, Marseille and Fiorentina are after a slightly over the hill goalkeeper? Arsenal are desperately chasing his signature too.

And Llanelli Town, AFC Barrow and Twiddlydiddly United* are after a journeyman utility player who picks up more red cards than hot baths? Arsenal are scratching at the door trying to get a look in.

*Twiddlydiddly United may or may not be a real club. Google it if you’re unsure…

But the gist is that if there’s a player on the move, old or young, good or terrible, we’re the first club the press like to add the the article to give it a bit more airtime.

So if I followed up every rumour, it’d be a full time job in itself. That’s why Daily Cannon has people to do it for us, so we can see all the rubbish in one place with the truth about the rumour laid bare.

Next, to scout or not to scout

To scout or not to scout

The other truth is that it’s really hard to assess a player from statistics or YouTube videos anyway.

The latter only ever show a snapshot of a player, or a carefully edited highlights reel designed to show a particular strength or weakness.

No one ever compiles “Alexis Sanchez’ greatest goals and moments he shot when he should have passed”.

As for statistics, clubs find it hard to scout on the basis of numbers alone.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s clearly some value to be had – personally, I love xG statistics as a measure, but they’re still limited by model reliability and sample size. I’m a firm believer that there is no substitute for a good old fashioned eye test.

I’d rather withhold at least an element of judgment until I’m able to scrutinise the player themselves on the Emirates turf.

It certainly beats basing your opinion on their numbers on FIFA or football manager attributes…oh wait, that’s what sky sports now use as “actual reporting”.

The state of modern journalism.

Next, my way

My way

No, I know enough about Lacazette to understand he’s fast, a great finisher, and likely to pose a serious threat to the desires of one Theo Walcott. The rest of what I know – at the moment – is pretty much limited to what I can pick up from photos – he has hair, a solid physique, and he looks good in the new home kit now that it’s back to a proper shade of red.

But now that he’s an Arsenal man, it’s ok to read the reports.

Now that he’s an Arsenal man, it’s ok to get excited.

But that’s the point: ONLY now that he’s an Arsenal man.

I’ll spend the next week or two reading every little tidbit of information and watching compilations of show reels just to get a feel for what the man is about. It’s not longer theoretical research, it’s understanding the (sizeable) value of our record signing.

But that said, I’ll still be there on the opening day, ready to submit Alexandre to that eye test.

I’m sure he can’t wait.