Mikel Arteta knows that Arsenal's discipline has to improve if they are to produce positive results in the Premier League.
The Spaniard has seen his team go down to ten men in three of their last five matches, with Gabriel's red card against Southampton the seventh time one of his players has been shown red since he took became Arsenal boss one year ago.
It's a dismal disciplinary record which is by far the worst in the league, but Arteta believes that it's up to him to change his players' state of mind in order for them to control themselves on the pitch.
"I take full responsibility because at the end I pick the players that have to be on the pitch," said Arteta.
"I have to try and transmit to them and get them in a state of mind that they can control themselves. Unfortunately in football everything goes so quick and emotions take big parts.
"I want the players to play with that freedom and take the pressure off because it's really needed and when you get the best out of them."
Arsenal's last Premier League victory came against Manchester United at the start of November and they have struggled in front of goal since, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finally netting from open play in the draw against Southampton on Wednesday.
"I think it's a team that has evolved a lot in many areas," he said.
"I'm seeing it because when I look at the game when we played against Everton at home and what we're doing now I can see a lot of changes. Results wise we've been nowhere near. I think this is taken the gloss off what we've done in the year but at the same time it's our reality."
Arteta will mark his one year anniversary in charge of Arsenal with a trip to his former team Everton on Saturday, and he's grateful for the contrasting experiences he's been involved in since being appointed head coach last December.
"I want to believe that I'm much better", he said.
"I've experienced things in a year that in a normal job you would experience in 10 or 8. It's been great because the people I have around me, the experiences we've been able to share with everybody at the club, has united everybody a lot. We've gone through that and we'll get through it. "
