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Lacazette's transfer to Arsenal has been a decade in the making

Gilles Grimandi, the former Arsenal player and now French scout for the club, knows Alexandre Lacazette very well. The first time he set his eyes on the Lyon striker was 10 years ago, when Lacazette was 16 and already the star of the 2001 generation at l'OL.

Alongside the teenage forward were Clément Grenier, Yannis Tafer and Sebastien Faure; all of them were in the France youth set up. But Lacazette was at the centre of everything. Lyon born and bred, he made his debut for the OL first team not long after, as an 18 year old, realising his dream to play for his hometown.