Chelsea are without European football next season. That’s a massive hit on their revenue, but it’s also an opportunity for them to mount a challenge for the PL title. Especially with Xabi Alonso as manager, Chelsea will have the shakeup they need to be title challengers

West Ham need to stick with NES. Keep the core identity & they’ll be back to the PL after one season, possibly as champions. If they choose to make massive changes, as they’ve done for years, they’ll struggle just like Leicester did this season

Bruno Fernandes will win the PFA Player’s POTY. He will win a trophy with United next season too. What that trophy will be depends on how United recruit in the summer

If West Ham got the VAR decision against Arsenal, it wouldn’t’ve changed their fate. But frankly, the club’s fate was sealed since they sacked Moyes. So many changes in ideology & players that they simply didn’t play to any elite standard. Relegation, therefore, was inevitable

For two minutes, Arsenal lacked positional discipline in midfield & didn’t properly pick up runners & positions to mitigate conceding chances. That led to the ball in the net twice, one of them being disallowed. Against PSG, this would’ve been worse

When Jesus is confident, he will score. His decision-making & clinical instinct is elite. Arsenal got to see that just when the team needed it, and well deserved

Surprised Zubi got the RB role, but that’s a perfect role for him to gain some confidence IP & OOP. Go through the game without being beaten in 1v1’s & maintaining positional discipline, and it’s a lovely confidence booster

Arsenal are dominating Palace, but two things are letting down their attacks so far: - Dowman’s decision-making isn’t quick enough in the infield role - Jesus isn’t confident in front of goal

Any surprises there? Bruno Fernandes fully deserves this recognition, but in no way does it undermine Arsenal’s achievements. I fear other fans, journalists, and “tacticos” will do just that

Understandable that Lijnders is leaving City just like Pep will bc Lijnders’ philosophy doesn’t really align with Maresca’s. That being said, it is a shame that City will be losing a pretty decent assistant coach, especially during a time when the 4-2-4 press is the leading meta in football

Not really worried about Haye’s absence bc he might still join later for the AFF Championships. The profiles here are ultimately balanced too, but it comes down to Herdman’s final selection

The reason we say Jakarta effectively has 42 million people is bc the neighbouring cities centre their development around Jakarta. Yes, more people are getting priced out of Jakarta, but at the same time, these other cities aren’t attracting investment & business. Why is that?

Anyone that denies Jakarta’s urban population reaching 42 million as somehow a way to deflect from the effects of overpopulation is fooling themselves. Jakarta simply doesn’t have space to hold that many people, regardless of the fact most only come to Jakarta for commuting

Massive boost for Arsenal that Merino is fit for this weekend’s trip to Palace. Arsenal have missed Merino’s control & tempo-setting abilities, which are attributes crucial to beating PSG. Just need Timber to be fit for the subs bench now

The fans, pundits, and “tacticos” complaining about the big names England aren’t taking are no better than Southgate & Hodgson. If you’re smart, you’d understand Tuchel’s decisions AND why it works

I’d be surprised if either one of Stones, Burn, Henderson, or Toney plays for more than 180 minutes in the WC bc wrt the other players in the squad, these players aren’t reliable (nor fit) enough to play according to Tuchel’s SOP

If Tuchel chose a WC squad based on online & media sentiment, he’d have Foden, Palmer, Kane, and Jude. That means you’ll have 4 players occupying the same zone simultaneously, which makes it easier for the opponent to defend. Different profiles, therefore, is the better solution

No country needs a “better squad” for a WC, especially not England. Having more talented players doesn’t matter if you can’t play with the same balance. England fans don’t want a repeat of 2006, right?

Like it or not, this England squad is good enough to win the WC. There’s enough balance & variety b/w profiles for a team to quickly prepare and perform in a month-long tournament

Don’t really agree with Burn being called up as LB for England bc he’ll be easily beaten by a trickster-paced RW. The obvious solution is to start O’Reilly for most of the tournament but I’m not sure Tuchel would do that

Don’t question why Madueke gets the call-up while Foden, Palmer, & MGW didn’t. You’d be comparing apples to oranges, especially bc Tuchel favours wide wingers who only invert if a #8 is behind them

More shockers coming, but if Spence is coming, then I expect Reece James to come as well. England will be vertical and the FBs are crucial to that. Without TAA & Shaw, your only saviour is James

The fact that there are so many big names not making the England squad actually bodes well for England’s talent pool. England fans must remember that this is Tuchel’s England, meaning that tactics, performance, and balance trumps squad dynamics

Damn, this will really be a shakeup to England’s spine, especially for a WC squad. Bold move by Tuchel here. Curious to see what his full chosen squad will be

If you get rid of the motorcycles & cars people use to commute to Jakarta, or replace them with bicycles, I guarantee you’ll see just how uncrowded Jakarta actually is

Seeing people complain about Jakarta’s overpopulation amuses me. The city’s been overpopulated for years & it doesn’t help when neighbouring cities also centre around Jakarta. This is no longer a problem, rather it’s become a fact of life

Iraola should now go to Liverpool after the news Slot won't be with Liverpool next season. He'll turn the club back into a high-pressing team that attacks with efficiency (i.e., back to their original identity). They missed out on Xabi Alonso, they mustn't miss out on Iraola

Curiously, with all the Arsenal transfer rumours, none of them mentions Arsenal's persistent need for a RCB as Saliba's cover. Mosquera is still too rash IP and would be better placed as a RB

If you watch Arsenal's corners of late, you'd actually notice they don't bother the GK as much as earlier in the season. Even for the Havertz goal against Burnley, no Arsenal player challenged the GK, instead the 6-yard box was crowded out to block *space* for Burnley's GK

Most PL teams now defending with a base 4-4-2 that moves into a 4-3-3/4-2-4. That's perfect for defending against European teams bc you cover the spaces efficiently before any line-breaking passes can be made. The downside is that it makes the PL appear "boring"

Watching the UEL final highlighted to me just how big the gap is b/w the PL & the rest of Europe. Villa were very solid, well-disciplined, and lacked any technical lapses. Meanwhile, in other leagues, any little mistake don't get immediately punished

Kroupi, Rayan, and Truffert have been exceptional for Bournemouth. Stuck to their jobs brilliantly & defended well against a constant City onslaught. Kroupi getting the goal Bournemouth needed to secure European qualification was the perfect cherry on top

Finally, after a 22-year long wait, Arsenal are the champions. After years of trying and failing, either under Wenger or recently with Arteta, Arsenal are finally able to cross the line. COYG!

Congratulations to Bournemouth for securing European qualification for the first time in their history. What a job done by the players & Andoni Iraola. Yet to be seen if they get UCL, but I hope they do bc they’ve deserved it this season

Junior Kroupi & Alex Scott being the two standout performers for Bournemouth in the first half. Sharp, dynamic, and disciplined. Hard to see them leave the club if Bournemouth do get UCL qualification

Bournemouth will have to defend for another 45+ minutes, likely deeper & with more bodies on the line. But that will only give more spaces in behind to counter, which Bournemouth can easily exploit just like they did for their first goal

Game’s very end-to-end. Bournemouth are doing well to bypass City’s press, but their plays aren’t coming off just like Arsenal did when they played Bournemouth at the Emirates. City still very likely to get the better chances & exert control

Difficult to see where Bournemouth can have their transitional break bc of City's extra midfielder. But Bournemouth can also make use of Senesi's/MF's line-breaking passes to bypass City's press just like Colwill did for Chelsea

Pep going for midfield control against a very strong Bournemouth team. Both will be well-equipped to counter each other's strengths, which means the first goal will come from either a lapse in concentration or a moment of magic

Nationalisation is bad when that’s the solution you’re proposing to curb a lack of enforcement. That’s saying the gov’t will take over bc they’re great even though the very problem is caused by their own inaction. Indonesia making an national export body is one of those

As much as you might not like yesterday’s performance, it was the first time in a while that both Arsenal played an Eze-Rice-Ø midfield. Last night was perfect to weed out the lapses in chemistry, so in the future, mistakes won’t happen again

Burnley’s shape was easily exploitable bc the gaps between players was wide enough to run/pass through. Arsenal exploited this in the first half & early in the second half. But after several defensive errors, the risk-taking slowed down even though it was still 1-0

In Palace, rotated or not, Arsenal have another chance to face a defensively disciplined mid-block team who are excellent in attacking transitions. This week's reflections & improvements must appear on Sunday bc anything less will be worrying for the UCL final

The Indonesian Finance Minister & President aren't wrong in saying Indonesia's economic problems are due to market sentiment. The problem is that they're behaving as if said sentiment isn't influenced by their own actions, which shows incompetence & inexperience

Foreign media are only now signalling the downwards spiral of Indonesia's economy & political system, when the writing's been on the wall AND yelled out by anyone who has a brain in Indonesia since the President's inauguration. Too late now, the gov't's too strong-willed.

Seeing as Burnley played in a 4-2-4, I expect the rest of the PL to play similar formations next season. Arteta & Arsenal have so far refused to press the same way, which is a good sign bc it shows their preference to press & play in a style ahead of the other teams

Arsenal weren't brave enough, nor were they seeing the line-breaking passes that could open up Burnley's 4-2-4 shape. Watch how Chelsea managed to break through City's 4-2-4 with those exact passes & compare it with Arsenal's timidness to do the same

Last night was very clearly an off-game for Eze. Hopefully, he can get his act together against Palace & PSG bc the moments will come for him to execute to perfection

The Arsenal team that played Burnley last night cannot be the same team that starts against Palace & PSG. The key issue was their inefficiency in beating the 4-2-4 press, which Burnley were defending well against even in the 2nd half.