Arsenal missed out on the chance to regain top spot in the Premier League after losing 1-0 at home to London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
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Having tussled with Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny in September’s reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, Costa was again the villain of the piece from an Arsenal perspective as he proved the catalyst in Chelsea’s 1-0 win – a result which leaves the Gunners in third behind both Leicester and Manchester City.
“The referee made the decision to give the red card and he had a clear view, if there was contact then it was the correct decision because Per Mertesacker was the last man”.
Diego Costa. The striker was told to concentrate on playing football by Chelsea interim boss Guus Hiddink and did so, scoring a superb opener after drawing the foul which saw Mertesacker sent off.
After two disappointing draws in a row, Arsenal will be eager to get all three points and return back to the championship form which has seen them become title contenders.
That dismissal prompted Arsene Wenger to send on Gabriel in place of Olivier Giroud, but Arsenal were nearly immediately behind as Ivanovic’s superb cross from the right was turned in by Costa from close range at the near post in the 23rd minute.
He said: “It is disappointing to have lost the game”. We played with 10 men.
They have actually only won two league games in that time – the same as Arsenal – but they’re coming from a drastically different situation to the Gunners. They looked like a proper team on an unbeaten run, with midfield leader Cesc Fabregas going to a hostile opposition ground and taking charge.
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.
In a game of few chances, Chelsea was content to maintain its lead in a solid defensive display, Arsenal restricted to a first half chance for Mathieu Flamini, set up by Aaron Ramsey.
Achieving a second successive win for the first time this season put Guidolin’s team in 15th place, and boosted their chances of avoiding relegation back to the Championship after five years.
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“But it means all teams can beat each other”. They need to win a game again.
