Costa reached Willian’s through-ball just ahead of Mertesacker and with the German already committed to a sliding tackle, the Chelsea striker tumbled and referee Mark Clattenburg brandished the red card.
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Per Mertesacker was sent off after 18 minutes for bringing down Costa as he raced towards goal, before the Spain global scored what proved to be the only goal of the game at Emirates Stadium five minutes later.
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.
While Arsenal were left three points below leaders Leicester City, Chelsea put seven points between themselves and the bottom three to ease any worst-case-scenario relegation fears that their fans may be harbouring.
“We should have come out with at least a 1-1 – even down to 10 men”.
‘I make the decisions and, for me, it was quite a normal decision. “But I want to see ambition always, whether you can (do it) or not”.
However, after Mertesacker’s dismissal, Arsenal were second best and Costa rubbed salt into their wounds by scoring the only goal of the game. We needed to use pace to go forward.
Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink is now unbeaten in seven matches and the Blues undefeated in eight since Jose Mourinho’s departure last month.
Terry insisted that reaching the top four to qualify for next season’s Champions League was still not out of the question despite a 14-point gap with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Joel Campbell and Mathieu Flamini also feature from the beginning as the north London outfit aim to reclaim their spot at the top of the Premier League table. “It’s a big gap”, he said.
‘He (Giroud) was a doubt, he did not practise yesterday, so it was on my mind, but I had to change a player and that was the most rational decision’.
Costa was withdrawn in the second half with a knee problem, but Hiddink did not know the extent of the injury.
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Hiddink described the sending off as “obvious” and rued the decision to deny Cesc Fabregas a penalty when Koscielny body-checked the playmaker.
