Manchester United are on course to finish in third place, and that’s not where the club aspire to be.
Ending the 2025/26 season in third place will be an impressive feat for a Manchester United team which finished in 15th in 2024/25.
Expectations for 2026/27 will change, and instead of hoping to qualify for the Champions League, United fans will want a title challenge.
So how do United overhaul Arsenal next season, who are currently 14 points ahead of the Red Devils with two games remaining?
The next step forward for United to take begins from the back.
Senne Lammens has been voted SIGNING OF THE SEASON by fans on TalkingPoints – Send your message to the goalkeeper here…
Senne Lammens is only part of the solution
Senne Lammens was recently voted as Manchester United’s signing of the season by fans. The goalkeeper has made a huge impact.
Lammens was also picked out as United’s man of the match following the 0-0 draw with Sunderland.
It was Lammens’ seventh clean sheet of the season.
This is an area where Manchester United lag too far behind Arsenal.
Arsenal have kept 18 Premier League clean sheets in 2025/26 compared to seven from United.
The Gunners have conceded a league best 0.70 goals per game, while United rank in ninth with 1.30 per game.
Lammens has helped United to improve, after the team failed to keep a clean sheet in any of the opening six matches of the season.
United conceded 1.83 goals per game under Altay Bayindir.
Lammens is only part of the solution and there must be a larger defensive improvement from United.
It is notable that five of Lammens’ clean sheets have come under Michael Carrick.
The improvement under Carrick has led to United closing the gap on the Gunners with only 1.08 goals conceded per game.
This shows that United are moving in the right direction, and need to continue this trajectory.
Who was Manchester United’s man of the match vs Sunderland?
A first 0-0 of the season, but did anyone stand out for Michael Carrick's side?
Senne Lammens is only part of the solution
There will be different challenges for United next season, including balancing Champions League football with Premier League games.
Arsenal’s impressive record of conceding only 0.70 goals per game domestically shows that it can be done.
United have some depth defensively and have chosen to extend Harry Maguire’s deal, but the biggest question mark lies over Matthijs de Ligt.
Can he stay fit? Can he play regularly? The same questions can also be applied to Lisandro Martinez.
United need consistency at the back, and this can also be helped by effectively replacing Casemiro in central midfield.
There is a lot to iron out, but unless United can start to match up with Arsenal’s impressive defensive statistics, the points tally next season is likely to have a similar gap.
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