London: Arsene Wenger needs to instil greater discipline into his players after three of them were sent off within a week, former Arsenal manager George Graham said on Sunday.

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French striker Olivier Giroud was dismissed in the Champions League defeat by Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday and Gabriel and Santi Cazorla both received red cards during a feisty London derby at Chelsea on Saturday, which the home side won 2-0.

Wenger was furious that Chelsea`s Diego Costa escaped with only a yellow card after becoming involving in several incidents and apparently provoking Gabriel.

In the Wenger`s 19 years at the club, they have had more than 100 sendings-off and Graham, who managed Arsenal from 1986-95, said the Frenchman had to take some of the responsibility.

"He is not the most strict manager and he really needs to get hold of his own players because there`s no way (Gabriel) should have been sent off," Graham told the BBC`s Sportsweek programme.

"It`s (Gabriel`s) own stupidity that got him sent off and they`ve got to handle that."

Graham agreed that Costa should also have been dismissed and predicted that referees would be stricter with him after Saturday`s incidents.

"He is going to be targeted now by the officials and probably rightly so," he added.

"Although you`ve got to keep that physical intensity, once you step over the mark he`s got to be dealt with by officials, it`s as simple as that. And I think he will be."