I’m sure you’ve all seen it again and know much more about that situation than I do.
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Diego Costa was obviously involved, because when is he not? The Gunners were also fortunate not to concede a second after Cesc Fabregas was denied what appeared a clear penalty when he was brought down by Laurent Koscielny.
Diego Costa was back to his best, constantly a threat to the Arsenal defence and deserved his goal.
We started off ok, and although we weren’t looking at our best off the ball, on the ball we were creating the odd chance going forward.
Referee Mark Clattenburg was well placed and had no hesitation in whipping out the red card and reducing the home side to 10 men.
Although Arsenal ultimately were crippled when down to 10 men, their short passing efficiency proved to provide two chances from the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini. Alexis Sanchez may play a part as well, although Arsene’s being a little cagey about that one.
Wenger was once again left to bemoan the influence of Costa and while the Frenchman did not accuse the striker of getting Mertesacker deliberately sent off, he hinted he was less than impressed with the 27-year-old’s conduct.
The Arsenal manager has been at the helm of the famous London club for nearly two decades, with his contract set to run until the end of the 2016-2017 season.
Confused fans voiced their anger at the decision as Giroud’s name was read out over the tannoy.
“It was of course frustrating, but it’s a decision we have to take on the chin and get on with our job. We had a good first half and played well, second half we played okay, although we could have materialised it more than 1-0”. “He provokes but he always stays calm and for us he’s very important”.
“We want full results”, Hiddink said.
Chelsea continue to occupy a special place in Arsenal’s nightmares and won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the teams’ last meeting in September despite picking up just 11 points from their first 12 games.
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A frantic scramble in the Chelsea box raised Arsenal hopes of an equaliser, but the hosts could not force the ball in as Hiddink’s side stood firm to claim back-to-back away wins and move above West Brom into 13th place.
