The Champions League Final between PSG and Arsenal is billed as a clash of styles.

But are these teams really as different as we think?

Both Mikel Arteta and Luis Enrique have spoken about their dream of a system where all players are capable of playing everywhere.

Despite significant divergence in their interpretations, the two Spanish coaches are united in their reverence for the most powerful tactical philosophy of them all: TOTAL FOOTBALL

In this special Champions League Final Preview episode of The 3rd Circle, Jamie speaks to acclaimed author David Winner about his book "Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football".

The far-reaching discussion delves deep into the origins and characteristics of the Cruyffian paradigm.

Gorka provides a close reading of the conversation as our hosts contemplate the nature of football from Outside the Total architecture of spatialised football.

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What have we just witnessed?

PSG vs Bayern has caused a rupture in football's space-time continuum.

It is as though a portal has been opened to another dimension, and a barrage of possible futures has come flooding in.

But how much of this is real?

Does this game really herald the coming of a new age?

Or, is it a curious artefact that reflects our own biases back at us?

Is Mikel Arteta the heir to Diego Simeone's Haramball crown?

Or, was Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid another example of the game's most sophisticated tactical system at work?

All this, and more, as Muffi joins Jamie in The 3rd Circle.

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Muffi Burhani makes his inaugural journey into The 3rd Circle to help Jamie and Gorka pick apart the remains of the EPL's showpiece face-off.

No stone is left unturned as our crew sets controls for the heart of Manchester City vs Arsenal.

Jamie voices his concerns about straight-line wingers, Muffi delves into the intentions behind Arteta's squad-building ethos, and Gorka makes numerous self-proclaimed hot-tactical-takes - some of which even survived the Edit.

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Jamie and Gorka shield their eyes from the alluring glare of objective football theory as they place aesthetics front and centre of our experience.

Our hosts draw on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant to help explain why we can never establish contact with 'the-game-in-itself'.

Can we ever analyse a game objectively?

Does best practice exist?

Why does any of this even matter?

It's a philosophical deep-dive into The 3rd Circle.

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It's a Friday the 13th round-up show as Gorka joins Jamie in The 3rd Circle to slash through the narrative machine.

Why does Eberechi Eze look so out of sorts in Mikel Arteta's maximum efficiency super-system?

Is Guillem Balague the true voice of European Football?

Gorka picks through the shredded remains of Hansi Flick's Barcelona.

And we marvel at the chaotic energy of Kim Hellberg's high-flying Middlesbrough.

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Jamie embarks on a solo mission into The 3rd Circle to weigh up the risk vs reward of central attacking.

Why are coaches so hesitant about playing through defensive blocks?

What are the assumptions influencing tactical thinking?

Why are the strategies of Racing Santander and Middlesbrough important?

As usual, Space is at the heart of it.

But, are we controlling space, or is space controlling us?...

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This is the second part of Jamie and Martin's discussion around Karl Marius Aksum's implementation of a perception-based coaching methodology with Swedish champions Mjallby.

Despite the meagre resources of the small fishing village, Mjallby were able to gain significant advantages as a result of Aksum's innovative techniques.

But how does a concept as vague as 'perception' actually cash-out in the real-world of football tactics?

The 3rd Circle follows in the footsteps of Kandinsky, Boulez, Cantor and Deleuze by positing the relevance of diagonality.

In doing so, we transcend the straight line logic of the vertical and horizontal by setting course on a new, oblique trajectory for football coaching.

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In David Cronenberg's body-horror cult classic "Scanners", members of the public with special psychic and telekinetic powers are recruited by weapons manufacturer ConSec.

Jamie and Martin do not mention the Canadian director's 1981 film, but they do discuss scanning.

Visual perception is the topic du jour in The 3rd Circle, and unlikely Swedish champions Mjallby AIF are our entry point.

How did a tiny fishing community and a 'football doctor' get their hands on the Allsvenskan title? Were telekinetic powers involved?

Enter The 3rd Circle to find out.

This discussion has been split into two parts.

This episode is Part 1.

Part 2 will be available soon.

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In a recent post-match interview, Manchester City playmaker, Rayan Cherki, dared to let slip that he had gone against his manager's wishes.

Pep Guardiola is arguably football's greatest ever tactical mastermind, but on this occasion, it appears that his plan was trumped by Cherki's intuition.

What does this episode tell us about the relationship between Guardiola and Cherki?

Is it a case of trouble in paradise, or could it be a classic example of opposites attract?

Jamie and Gorka analyse Cherki's role in this season's Manchester City and assess how Guardiola can get the best out of the maverick forward.

We also hear Arne Slot's theories about breaking down low-blocks and end up wondering: where has all the combination play gone?

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The 3rd Circle shines its analytical lens on Glasgow to investigate some unusual happenings in the city's East End.

Jamie and Gorka piece together the logic behind the playing style of Celtic's divisive new Head Coach, Wilfried Nancy.

What is Nancy trying to do?

Why is he trying to do it?

What's he building in there?

Can Nancy's odd mix of influences come together to create something beautiful?

Stranger things have happened...

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