Sokratis Papastathopoulos insisted it was his fault and his fault alone that Arsenal dropped two points at Watford after his error handed the Hornets' a second half life line.
With Arsenal leading 2-0 in the 53rd minute at Vicarage Road Sokratis misplaced a pass to Matteo Guendouzi as the visitors looked to build from the back with a goal kick. Gerard Deulofeu intercepted the ball, diverting it into the path of Tom Cleverly who struck past Bernd Leno.
It was one of 31 shots Arsenal faced on their goal in a match where they continually came under pressure from the Hornets, whose eventual equaliser came when David Luiz conceded a penalty for a trip on Roberto Pereyra.
From an insistence on playing out from the back to a midfield diamond that invited pressure down the flanks Unai Emery's tactics came in for much criticism after the draw, which leaves Arsenal level on points with top four rivals Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United. Meanwhile familiar questions over the squad's character were raised, only exacerbated when Granit Xhaka admitted he and his team-mates had been "scared" in the second half.
But veteran centre-back Sokratis was in no doubt that blame for the draw lay solely at his door.
"I think that I cost the game for the team," he said. "It was my mistake for something simple that I don't have to do.
"I think this was the problem why we lost the three points.
"I apologised because today I cost the game for the team and I have to work harder.
"I know up to this moment I didn't have a mistake, I didn't do nothing [wrong]. Everything was near to perfect. But defence is [about] no risk and today it was my mistake.
"I don't want to speak about others. Today it was my mistake and this cost the game. Nothing else.
"The other guys tried their best. I don't have to do this mistake."
Sokratis ruthless self-examination is unlikely to end the mumblings of discontent aimed at Unai Emery with particular criticism coming from a generation of Arsenal defenders who prided themselves on their solidity.
Tony Adams said it was "very difficult to 'defend' that poor performance" whilst his former defensive partner Martin Keown told the BBC: "The worrying thing is [Emery's] side still have huge issues defensively, and they do not appear to be improving.
"In fact they seem to be getting worse."
Arsenal's insistence on playing out from the back came in for particular criticism aimed at Emery, who insisted after the draw that his side would continue to take short goal kicks even though they are not the only team who appear to be inviting pressure on themselves near their goal.
"This is all about our responsibility and we have to do better," Sokratis insisted.
"It was my mistake and today without my mistake, we would take the three points."
