Mikel Arteta gave a spiky response to a reporter following a question on Arsenal's team selection for their defeat against Aston Villa.

The Gunners fell to a 2-0 loss at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon in what was a huge blow to their Premier League title chances.

Leon Bailey opened the scoring for Villa in the second half before Ollie Watkins netted his 19th goal of the season to secure the win.

Arteta's side are now two points behind Manchester City in second place and the race for top spot is no longer in the Gunners' hands.

The result left fans and players alike with heads in hands at full time, with it likely to make a huge impact come the end of the season.

Arteta was understandably unhappy with the result and took issue with a reporter asking him about his team selection in his post-match press conference.

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Leandro Trossard was preferred to Gabriel Martinelli in the starting line-up in a decision that was questioned by a reporter in Arteta's press conference.

The reporter asked: "Why did you put Trossard in the line-up today instead of Gabriel Martinelli?

"Is Gabriel not fit enough for a 90-minute match?"

In response, Arteta shrugged his shoulders with a bemused face and answered: "Because I'm the manager and I decide the line-up."

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That was all the Spaniard had to say to that question as he felt that the answer was enough to explain why he picked the team he did.

The Arsenal manager also commented on whether his side's season could fizzle out now following the defeat to Villa.

Arteta said: "If one result is going to do that then we are not strong enough. That’s very simple.

"We had one of the best performances that we’ve had all season in the first half against a really good team.

"It should have been three or four or more. It didn’t happen.

"In the second half the