Michael Carrick has encouraged his side to “live in the moment” after moving up to third in the Premier League table.

Carrick continues to be lauded for his side’s excellent form, but insists that catching Arsenal is not the immediate focus for his reinvigorated team.

“Listen, you can’t rule anything out in football, but we’ve got to be realistic,” he said.

“We’ve just got to try and keep winning games and see. Above us now there are two fantastic teams and there are some really good teams in and around us.

“We’ve had a good run but we’re certainly not getting carried away.

“You’ve got to be patient but you’ve also got to live in the moment a little bit.

“Wherever that’s going to take us, we’ll just have to see. But we’ll keep pushing anyway.”

Sunday’s comeback victory over Crystal Palace means United have picked up 19 points from a possible 21 in the league under Carrick. The former midfielder has urged his side to remain “grounded”.

“I’m always learning things as you go through and [things] you could have done a little bit better,” he said.

“There is a lot of context, with different players and what the games look like.

“It’s not so much guarding against it, it’s living in the moment, keeping grounded and understanding what it takes to win games.

“We won’t get carried away. You have to feed off the confidence and understand that runs of wins are hard to come by. We’re hungry for more and want it for as long as it will last.”

Manchester United return to domestic action against Newcastle United on Wednesday evening, before hosting Aston Villa at Old Trafford this weekend.