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LES GRANDES ÉQUIPES

Here we are in the dog days of May, with the European club football season playing out a slow, sultry finale as the Geopolitics World Cup bangs ever louder on the door. Legendary managers and beloved players have made tearful farewells, shiny pots handed out, spies spotted in slapstick circumstances. But wait! The big closing number is still to come. Paris Saint-Germain. The Arsenal. Budapest. Saturday, er, 5pm BST. It’s Bigger Cup Final!

PSG, the defending champions, find themselves in a similar scenario to last year. Having swashbuckled their way through the choppier side of the draw, Luis Enrique’s lads face a team famed for their tenacity and titanium defence. Last year it was Inter who tried to stand up to PSG’s formidable attacking unit, and were dismantled so comprehensively that manager Simone Inzaghi was working in Saudi Arabia five days later. That’s a day for each goal Inter conceded, with PSG racking up the most one-sided result in Big Cup Final history, finally launching a particularly persistent monkey off their collective backs.

Speaking of former specialists in failure, Arsenal have signed off from their banter era in style. Having won their first league title for 22 years – a moment marked by a glorious impromptu party outside the Emirates – their first Big/Bigger Cup final since 2006 feels almost like an afterthought, a shiny sixpence discovered moments after winning the lottery. Make no mistake though: getting their hands on and heads in that massive trophy would take Arsenal’s already stellar season into the stratosphere – and complete an unprecedented treble of Europots for English clubs with buildings in their names. Maybe next season, eh Newcastle? Oh.

Eddie Howe could at least offer Mikel Arteta some advice on getting a result against PSG, something Arsenal failed to do in last season’s semi-finals. In their defence, few have been able to live with Luis Enrique’s immensely talented team, unshackled from anxiety and riding an attacking groove so ruthless, we’re starting to think PSG actually stands for Pass, Shoot, Goal. Qatar’s finest also find themselves in the unusual position of neutrals’ favourites, and have around 7,000 collective extra minutes in the tank, having cantered to the Ligue 1 title; this season, Declan Rice has clocked up more league game time than Ousmane Dembéle and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia combined.

Still, if there’s any team on earth you’d back to spoil PSG’s party, it would surely be Arteta’s masters of defence and dark arts. If Arsène Wenger gave us the Invincibles, this new Arsenal unit are more like the Expendables – a grizzled band of henchmen perpetually ready for one last job. Plus, they already know how to defend a one-goal lead in a Bigger Cup final, because they play that way pretty much all the time. This Arsenal side have a unique set of skills, and can control games in a manner that is hugely impressive, if occasionally hard to watch. Anyway, what is Bigger Cup without its great spoilers, from catenaccio to José-ball? This is a perfect final showdown: silk against steel, magic versus muscle, the unstoppable force and the immovable object. And it’s live!*

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LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

Follow Bigger Cup final for free with pre-game buildup and live updates from PSG 0-1 Arsenal (aet) with Rob Smyth. Plus: Scott Murray covers Scotland 1-1 Curaçao in a GWC warm-up (1pm BST kick-off).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The mural is absolutely top class. I have fond memories growing up on these streets, so it really does mean a lot” – through finger-and-thumb spectacles, John McGinn takes in a 25ft artwork in his home town of Clydebank. More murals are planned as part of Irn-Bru’s campaign in the lead-up to GWC, so if you’d like Grant Hanley plastered over your garage, you know what to do.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Was the repeat reference to Phil Taverner’s punishment (Thursday’s letters) a rare slip on Football Daily Ed’s part, or was his original offence deemed so heinous that he’s to be named and shamed on a daily basis for the foreseeable? Just asking for a friend” – Phil Taverner.

Donyell Malen played 46 times for Aston Villa and scored just seven goals, then scored 14 times in 18 games for Roma to finish as second-top scorer in Serie A this season after arriving in January. This might explain how Scott McTominay won Serie A player of the season, and why Italy failed to qualify for their third World Cup in a row” – Noble Francis.

Re: George Smith’s letter. Not only is the $100+ fee for a train ride to the MetLife Stadium gouging, it is virtually mandatory. There is no pedestrian access during GWC, and the Meadowlands area has swamps that are foul with toxic waste” – Steve Hibbert [Big Website gave it a go – Football Daily Ed].

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Phil Taverner. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Arsenal owner Josh Kroenke has promised the Gunners will strengthen their squad even if they claim Bigger Cup glory, “[In] our experience of winning things in the States, when you win something, the sun’s still going to come up the next day,” he chirped cryptically.

Liverpool’s defensive reserves are set to become even more depleted with the news that Ibrahima Konaté is poised to leave after failing to agree a contract extension.

Australia have been handed a flamin’ boost for the GWC with young Sassuolo attacker Cristian Volpato switching his allegiance from Italy to join up with the Socceroos.

“He is going to score in the World Cup. I really have trust in that.” Mauricio Pochettino sets an ambitious target of one GWC goal for USA USA USA star Christian Pulisic.

Pochettino has held talks over the vacant managerial position at Pulisic’s current club, Milan – and could take over after this summer’s shindig is done.

Lionel Messi, 78, has been confirmed as part of Argentina’s 26-man GWC party. Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, who missed the end of the Premier League season with knack, has also been included.

And after the Republic of Ireland’s friendly win over Qatar was disrupted by fans throwing tennis balls featuring the Palestine flag on to the pitch, midfielder Jamie McGrath said he expects the controversy over scheduled games against Israel in September to “heat up”. He added: “Hopefully the powers above us can work something out or use it for the greater good.”

PAYNE’S GAINS

If the name Tim Payne sounds unfamiliar to you in sporting terms (other than being a misspelling of a recent Aussie cricket pantomime villain), you are not alone. However, on the eve of GWC, a New Zealand defender by that name has been propelled to internet fame by an Argentinian influencer. Valen “El Scarso” Scarsini decided the upcoming tournament needed a people’s champion and, after a trawl through the lesser known and least controversial stars from all 48 teams, triumphantly landed on 32-year-old All Whites full-back Payne, who hitherto had around 4,700 Instagram followers. Scarsini’s own band of 500,000-plus followers were urged to “mention Tim Payne everywhere”. Remarkably, Payne now boasts more than a million followers, dwarfing the following of his New Zealand captain Chris Wood – and he even has his own song.

STILL WANT MORE?

While Luis Enrique rotated his squad in Ligue 1, Mikel Arteta was forced to rely on his best XI across all competitions. Here’s Opta’s Ali Tweedale on why that could make the difference in Bigger Cup Final.

Uncertainty still clouds the GWC Group G opener between New Zealand and Iran, scheduled to be held in LA on 15 June; John Duerden reports.

Some 40 years after Mexico reached the World Cup quarter-finals on home soil, the current coach, Javier Aguirre – a player at that tournament – has repeated an old tactic from 1986: isolation. Raúl Vilchis explains.

After bagging the WSL title and tying star striker Khadija Shaw to a new contract, things are going great guns for Manchester City. Could they add the Women’s FA Cup to their trophy haul? Tom Garry previews this weekend’s final versus Brighton.

“As a kid I could have never dreamed I would score a goal in the final and win that game. Hopefully it will happen again.” Kai Havertz, goal hero for Chelsea in the 2021 Bigger Cup final, chats to Ed Aarons.

Give me a K: fans in Tbilisi will cheer on Kvicha Kvaratskhelia as he aims to make his mark on another Bigger Cup final, reports Ted Todorovic-Thomas.

He’s aggressive, direct, intense and quick: Louise Taylor tells Barcelona what they would be getting by signing Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.

And fancy some more World Cup guides? Of course you do. Here’s our expert insight on Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.

MEMORY LANE

The Arsenal manager, George Graham, is flanked by captain Tony Adams and winning goal scorer Alan Smith – both sporting some choice knitwear – as they parade the European Cup Winners’ Cup through north London in 1994. The Gunners beat Parma 1-0 in Copenhagen to land their most recent men’s European trophy (at time of writing).

‘I’M HENRY IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE’