I had a piece on Keith Edelman half written, but it was becoming a bit of an opus in itself, so unless someone wants to pay me £3,000 for an exclusive copy I’ll put it on the back burner and finish it when the mood takes me.

I wasn’t in too much of a rush to replace the previous online ed, as I’d kind of got used to the pic of Jessica Alba in a bikini on the frontpage and had no great desire to move it on for a piece with a pic of our former MD. There is simply no comparison, I think even the most anti-sexist of our readers would acknowledge.

Still, all things must past. I didn’t travel up to the Stadium of Light yesterday. Time pressures and financial concerns make away games less attractive these days. I’d normally have ventured out to locate a pub that was relaying the match, but the knowledge that a delayed transmission on ‘Football First’ would be available later that evening (and that it would have been a tough job to find a boozer showing the match given the likely choice of matches abroad) meant I watched the live TV offerings instead, with a bit of channel hopping between matches.

I decided that I could at least enjoy one aspect of the afternoon in that either Man Utd or Chelsea would look crestfallen at the end of it, and watching Chelsea reminded me a bit of how we felt in 1999 when we were relying on Spurs to beat Man Utd at Old Trafford. You try and do your bit, but once your fate is not in your own hands, then all you can do is hope for a miracle. Steve Bennett’s questionable officiating at the JJB ensured that wouldn’t happen, but from this vantage point it was amusing rather than annoying.

It should have mattered more to me as Arsenal, of course, should have been involved on the final day. And there are a number of things that went wrong, any of which – had they gone differently – would have made the Gunners the champions. There is no point in going over that territory again, but I do think it needs to be remembered that the team attained 83 points this season, a 15 point improvement on a year ago. Three matches were lost, but that two of those were our toughest two fixtures is why that amount was too great, despite being very respectable. The two games at Old Trafford in the FA Cup and the Premier League sandwiched the events that have clouded the memories of just how good Arsenal were for much of the season.

For whatever reason, the memory seems to recall trauma much easier than triumph and Arsenal fans have been collectively suffering, leading to a lot of protests about the board, the manager and the players. Some are certainly justified, but only a little improvement is actually required, not drastic surgery. Doubtless Arsene Wenger is aware of this and has even gone as far as to admit that some areas do need attention. If his eye for quality is in once again this summer, that should be taken care of. Out of last summer’s major purchases, two of the three were quality buys. As for Diarra, at least a profit was made on the player even if he should not have been sold.

Flamini obviously had a great season, but there are other players who can do the job he did. I am not sure if they are at the club now, but central midfield has never been a problem area at any time under Wenger. I could even accept an argument that Gilberto, with a proper start to the season, could again be the player he was. He had a wretched year, but seems to be a player than benefits from consistent selection and finding a rhythm. Sometimes a team needs greater experience, so I’d be reluctant to move on both him and Gallas. Wenger is unlikely to buy anyone over the age of 23, so a balance is required. An alternative is to look at Toure in the centre, or even sign his brother Yaya. As I’ve said though, it’s unlikely to be a problem area.

If Hleb goes, Arsenal may be forced to change their style, and quite possibly for the better. The words ‘fannying around the box’ come to mind, and the team need, on occasion to be a bit more direct when chances arise. I think Robin van Persie was a huge loss in this respect, as well as Rosicky. Arsenal were left with the shot shy Hleb and the questionable attempts of Eboue, stripped of two of their more confident attacking options. Eduardo was also happy to get attempts in, so acknowledging that every team suffers injuries, Wenger simply had too many of the same type of player out at the same time and the price was paid through all of those draws against weaker teams.

Anyway, on Sunday evening I was too shattered to stay up and catch either Football First or Match of the Day, so I put them both on the Sky Plus and will catch them at my leisure. I’m looking forward to June and the Euros. England’s lack of involvement should certainly raise the technical level at the tournament! And we’ll see a few Arsenal stars to boot, although thankfully not Tomas Rosicky, who would probably just get injured again.

Wenger’s stated he intends to do most of his transfer business before May’s out, so I’m looking forward to seeing who he brings in. OnlineGooner will keep posting pieces over the summer and my apologies to those who have submitted stuff I haven’t posted yet, including Jakarta Casual. I’ll get these up over the coming weeks. I only have so much time to prepare stuff for posting each day, so do as much as I can.

Arsenal didn’t win any silverware this year. But when you watch the end of season DVD you might just find yourself surprised how much of it you will enjoy.

And for those of you already suffering Jessica Alba withdrawal symptoms, here are some wallpapers – six pages’ worth! Scroll down the screen to find them - just don’t put them on your work computer as they have a tendency to make the mind wonder…