This is my somewhat dispassionate opinion. Trying to remain realistic and objective without feeding false optimism or doom-mongering.
We've finished second due to (a) a stellar defensive team performance, and, (b) our rivals demonstrating varying levels of inconsistency. Of course, we were some way behind City, who were simply outstanding. There's a growing consensus on here that believe them to have achieved a one-off, however, there's every chance that they could perform something similar to what they did last season, especially given that Mendy is available throughout, Mahrez will add competition for Sterling and add goals, and they're not weaker in terms of losing players. At the very least, a realistic analysis of City this season is to anticipate them performing to similar levels to the last. It's possible for them to improve, but even if they don't meet last years standards, we must expect the same kind of efficiency as last year.
With that in mind, there are areas which I feel we must improve upon, or else the gap that existed between us and City may remain as it is. Balance in the side is important. Young has performed excellently, overall, however, individual performance aside, there is an imbalance with Young on that left. Ones that natural left-back's provide in terms of overlapping runs. Young has a tendency to not overlap, and consequently leaves our winger in one-vs-two situations on the side with Young behind (rather then in front) of him for overlap support. We need Shaw to kick on this year and provide that. Young will remain in that slot until he can be forced out through excellent form by Shaw. My own personal prediction is that Dalot will impress upon debuting, as he did for Porto at LB, and he'll be the one to challenge Young for his LB spot, leaving Valencia continuing at RB.
RW is still an area that requires filling. Watching Chong keep the width at times on that right reminded me just how left side dependent and dominant we are. No Premier winning side can be this one side dominant without becoming predictable and easy to coach against. There's a few weeks left in the market, so, here's hoping. I'm predicting that Fred will be the legs in the midfield to really give Pogba the freedom to impose himself on the game for us, and in turn, we might end up looking a lot more fluid for it.