Mikel Arteta admits he is satisfied with his years work at Arsenal but concedes their poor recent form has taken the gloss off their achievements.
The Spaniard took charge at the Emirates a year ago after he was appointed Unai Emery's successor.
He inherited a struggling outfit bereft of confidence but began changing the culture in north London.
Arteta came from a winning environment at Manchester City and bought that feeling with him as he delivered the FA Cup and Community Shield.
But that optimism has faded with the Gunners languishing in the bottom half having lost seven of their 13 league games.
And the former City no 2 is not naive to the challenge and accepts that results need to change.
He said: "I think it has been one of the most challenging years in the club’s history for many, many different reasons.
"I think we have made a lot of progress and implanted a lot of positive things that have worked really well.
"We have gone through structural changes right across the club that has obviously shaken the club, big time.
"I would say the highlights of the year is the two trophies that we have won together, and the most disappointing thing is that we haven’t had our fans with us to take us through this difficult moment.
"I think it could have been a really, really positive year but the recent form in the Premier League is taking the gloss off what we have done in the calendar year.
"But we have to accept that our Premier League form in recent weeks is not good enough for this football club."
Arteta will take his Arsenal side to Everton tomorrow, a club where he played for seven years.
The Gunners have not won on the road since beating Manchester United on November 1.
