Jake's Road Report is Gemini Sports founder Jake Schuster’s weekly update from professional football's frontlines. He travels globally, meeting club executives to share candid insights on AI's role in football. These raw, actionable thoughts are delivered weekly, with meeting details kept confidential and specific intel omitted.

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In 2011-12, I did my exchange year in Amsterdam. Being a student, I attended plenty of parties, and that's where I fell in love with techno. My favorite night, though, was called Kill All Hipsters. Once a month, at one of the smaller clubs in town, this production group played all the hits you hate to admit you love. Mr. Brightside, Modest Mouse, Queens of the Stone Age—you know the list. Four hours of belting out lyrics with your friends, completely shame-free.

Most of the time, we focused on being cool, on playing the part of students in one of Europe's most vibrant cities, going out to the slickest venues with the hottest DJs. One night a month, though, we killed the hipster vibe and went for the most obvious jams. And you know what? We had the absolute time of our lives.

It seems like scouting can be that way, sometimes.

Arsenal has arguably the best scouting operation in the world. Everyone who’s anyone knew they needed a striker. So which player did they buy? The one with the best price-to-value ratio, who scored the most goals of any player in Europe last year. Period.

They could have bought Ekitike with his underlying numbers for 40% more money and some huge question marks. They could have broken the bank for Isak or Osimhen and been forced to forgo Eze, Madueke and other stellar additions.

Instead, they took the obvious choice with the best price attached and grabbed Gyökeres. And, honestly, I think they nailed it.

We spend so much time searching for the most hipster, niche, “cool” signing we can make so that everyone will marvel at our genius. But sometimes, you've got to kill all hipsters and make the obvious choice anyone can see—if they're willing to admit it.