Stand aside Didier Drogba, Arsenal have a new bogeyman and his name is Diego Costa. On Sunday at the Emirates, the Spanish international was once again at the centre of the drama, winning the foul which saw German giraffe Per Mertesacker sent off after just 18 minutes before netting the only goal of the game just five minutes later.
The sending-off was somewhat contentious. While last-man Mertesacker’s ungainly lunge on Costa was dreadfully misjudged, there seemed to be no actual contact, with the Chelsea striker going down in typically dramatic fashion…
Hope the @FA have another look, zero contact in that tackle, shameful dive by Costa pic.twitter.com/CEzL5JQT0I
— 7amkickoff (@7amkickoff) January 24, 2016
Anyway, to add insult to injury for the Gunners, Arsene Wenger immediately replaced in-form striker Olivier Giroud for centre-half Gabriel, only for the Arsenal defender to lose Costa in the box for the winning goal.
With 10-men, the hosts played some neat football but rarely threatened Thibaut Courtois’ goal, as their title-tilt took another blow. Indeed, Arsene Wenger’s charges have now taken just one point from their last three games and while they are still well in the hunt for the Premier League title, their fragility and penchant for implosion could well scupper them once again. As for Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea, on the other hand, they look to have rediscovered their mojo, with Costa back in the goals as well.