Every word Mikel Arteta said on Arsenal title race, Martin Odegaard injury and Aston Villa loss

The title is back in City’s hands. How confident are you that it could still change?

Yeah that’s a possibility. That’s the reality now. It’s been the same for a few months. We knew this moment could come and now it’s about reacting and keeping believing and doing what we can do.

How important is it to make sure the season doesn’t fizzle out now?

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 momentum shifted. We could not control and generate what we did in the first half. We conceded two very poor goals and we lost the game. Congratulate the opponent and stand up. Now the moment is to stand up and be counted. When you win and win and win for four months it’s very simple to do it. The moment to do it is now.

Are you confident you have the leaders in the squad to turn it around?

We don’t have any other solution. If you want to win championships, if you want to be there in the Champions League, when you have these moments you have to stand up. If not that means that you don’t have a quality that is very necessary. Now it’s a big test for us.

Why did Trossard start?

Because I am the manager and I decide the line up.

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Why was there such a change of momentum in the second half?

We were struggling to regain the ball in the areas that we did in the first half. Then we lacked a lot of composure. We rushed things with the ball