Burnley 0-2 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | Premier League: 2019-20

#1 Top four remains all to play for

United are right to have renewed optimism ahead of 2020

As previously mentioned, Tottenham's surprise 2-2 draw away at Norwich means United are just one point behind Chelsea - although Frank Lampard's side have a game in hand.

Should they fail to win against an unpredictable Arsenal side, it would make for an interesting start to the New Year, even with half the season still to play. They have lost five of their last seven Premier League games and January could prove a pivotal month for all the sides chasing a Champions League berth.

Aside from their surprise defeat by Watford last weekend, United's last PL defeat was on November 2 - a 1-0 loss vs. Bournemouth. After that, they were unbeaten in six games. The Blues face Arsenal, Leicester, United and Tottenham among others before returning to Champions League action against Bayern Munich on February 25. Who knows how the table will look by that stage of the campaign?

Tottenham still have multiple issues to iron out, so it'll be interesting to see how Jose Mourinho deals with them over the coming months. Considering Spurs' recent form and how questions are still being asked about whether they've really improved in north London, it's fair to say that United hold a psychological edge in that regard.

Winning games like these allows Solskjaer breathing space to work with, especially having done so without a full-strength side to call upon. Paul Pogba (ankle) wasn't involved on this occasion and has essentially been sidelined all season long. So while City are struggling, there's renewed optimism in the blue half of Manchester to start 2020.