'Pointless' Steven Gerrard questions asked in aftermath of Aston Villa's defeat to Arsenal

Steven Gerrard has had his decision making for the game against Arsenal questioned by Aston Villa fans, who are wondering why he opted to change a formation that had worked well in recent weeks.

It was an afternoon to forget as a disjointed and laboured Aston Villa side dragged themselves to full time whilst Arsenal seemingly went through the motions. The sleek and impressive attacking football Villa fans had witnessed in recent weeks was eradicated by wayward passes and a lack of fluidity going forward, in a performance that won't live long in the memory of the claret and blue faithful.

Villa struggled with the simplest of tasks and despite an improved effort in the second half, to take anything from this game would've been an injustice given the lack of potency they offered for the majority of the fixture. Speaking after the game, Gerrard voiced his displeasure on the performance he had witnessed from his team.

He stated: "We deserved to be behind in the first half. We were second best. We set up to be aggressive but lacked belief in what we were doing.

"I thought certain individuals lacked belief. It's hard to execute a game plan if not everyone believes in what you are doing.

"The league doesn't lie. Certain teams are ahead of us at the moment, and there's a reason for that.

"I'm emotional, I care, I don't like getting beat."

The stern comments by the Villa boss have been received by fans, who have sent the manager a clear message after the quotes emerged.

Yet he continues to select these players. I'm a fan of Gerrard but it's pointless making these comments if he sticks with the majority of the starting 11 each week. He said a few weeks back after the Newcastle defeat that there'd be changes only to keep 10