Man Utd 2, Arsenal 1

I didn't watch the match. I didn't want to. There were too many good things happening at 1:00am for me to be sucked into 90 minutes of horrible, fruitless introspection. So, I said "no" to Arsenal. Actually, I said a big "fuck no; not if this was the last fucking football match ever, and it was the decider for greatest team of all time".

And boy, did it feel good.

That night, for the first time in three months, I slept like a fucking baby. I dreamt a positive, optimistic dream about sandcastles and the beach - and not the normal post-Arsenal dream where I'm being chased by mobile-phone waving Ashley Cole (I'm too scared to try to intepret that one). I woke up refreshed and ready for a new day.

I wasn't even that hurt when I found out the score. And after I read the match reports, the score even seemed like an accurate representation of our season at large. We played Man Utd off the park in the first half, Adebayor scored one goal and missed many, and we went into the break 1-0. Then, second half, Man Utd clicked into gear and got two more. Everything we've known about Arsenal was, apparently, displayed in that match - we have the talent to be the top side in Europe, but we don't have the setup to sustain our form, we don't have the clinical edge needed to grind out games, and we can't hold onto leads.

This could be the basis of an all-out whinge about the state of our squad, Wenger's transfer policy, whether 4-4-2 is better than 4-5-1..., but I'll resist the temptation. It's pointless.

However we dissect our troubles, we can't get away from the fact that our season's over. Four meaningless games to go, where we've got to try and chase down Chelsea. After the great start to the season, it'll be a shame if we finished 3rd. 2nd is something to hang our hat on, and comfort us during the season of "I-wanted-to-buy-X-but-he-was-to-expensive". Still, it doesn't really matter. 2nd or 3rd is largely academic. What's important is that we know we've a solid basis to mount a proper premiership challenge next year. Our players will be one year better. Walcott and Bendtner will be able to support Adebayor. Vela will be here and, although I have reservations about pinning our hopes on a 19 year old, he does peak my curiosity. He's a brilliant player in FM08.

Next season, I firmly believe we'll be in it until the last round. The wheels fell off the wagon this year. Next year, our backups (Denilson, Djourou, Walcott, Bendtner etc.) will be better, stronger and more experienced. Maybe they'll be ready to take some of the burden away from the first team, and we'll be strong enough to finish off matches in 2009. At any rate, whatever we do, we'll be in a stronger position than we were at the beginning of the year. When you get down to it, consistent improvement is all any fan can hope for, and we're achieving that with the natural progression of our youngsters. So really, I'm happy and hopeful for next season.

But I'll be REALLY happy if Wenger would buy a quality, quality 'keeper. And maybe Kaka. And Messi. And Benzema, Ben Arfa and Nasri....