Michael Carrick is looking up the Premier League table rather than down it. That means trying to reel in Manchester City and Arsenal next season.
Tracing United’s improvement from 15th place in 2024/25 to third this season is a relatively simple task. They conceded only four fewer goals, but scored an extra 25. That was enough to earn them a 29 point uptick.
The conclusion? It’s attacks that usually win league titles, not defences no matter what Arsenal think they might have proved this season. Yes, United will need to tighten up that tally of 50 goals conceded in 38 games, but not as much as they need to add more firepower.
The Arsenal outlier
Arsenal are the outliers here. They scored only two more than United, but conceded 23 fewer. That swing was vital in giving them a 14 point lead on Carrick’s side.
There is no guarantee next season will be as low scoring. It might well be that attacks win titles, as they pretty much always have done in the Premier League.
If United can go from 69 goals to 80 goals, they will be an awful lot closer to Manchester City and Arsenal than they have been this season. Any side that is prolific in attack will inevitably be dominating territory and, therefore, better defensively. They will also have more of a margin for error, something Arsenal haven’t often had.
Second best since Fergie
This was actually United’s second best attacking season in the Premier League in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era. There is every reason to believe they can beat the record of 73 goals from 2020/21 next season.
The reason for that confidence is the improvement in attack delivered last summer, when the £215m spending spree on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko paid dividends. There should also be more to come.
That trio delivered 32 of United’s 69 Premier League goals, evenly spread with 11 for Mbeumo and Sesko and 10 for Cunha. All three had strong first seasons at Old Trafford, but all three should also be of the view that they can deliver more. They will need to if they are to take United to the next level.
More to come
None of the three new arrivals were hot for the whole season. Sesko and Cunha started relatively slowly. Mbeumo suffered a cold patch during the second half. That shouldn’t come as a surprise in a first season at a new club.
All will certainly think they can deliver more. That should be natural for Sesko, who got his 11 goals from just 17 starts. If he gets more game time, he should score more goals especially after getting that first season in English football under his belt.
The three forwards should all be aiming for 15 Premier League goals. That alone could deliver 13 extra league goals for United. Mbeumo hit 20 in his final season for Brentford. Cunha got 14 and 17 in his two full seasons at Wolves. They know that is a level they can reach.
The bottom line
United will be happy with the contributions of all three in their first seasons. But they will also believe there is more to come.
There has to be if Carrick’s aim to look up the Premier League table rather than behind him, is to pay off.
Cunha. Mbeumo. Sesko.
Thirty two goals between them this season. Forty five is the target.
If they hit it, United might just be having a very different conversation about the title race this time next year.
