Nine-man Arsenal FC were beaten 2-0 by Chelsea FC with an incident involving Deigo Costa and Gabriel casting its shadow over the game. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger blasted the antics of the Chelsea forward, stating that he should have been sent off twice and that he keeps getting away with such incidents.
Gabriel and Diego Costa have a history with the latter having elbowed Gabriel during their La Liga days with Atletico Madrid and Villareal, respectively. Costa and Gabriel were once again involved in a spat that led to the Arsenal defender being sent off.
Santi Cazorla was also sent off for a double yellow card in the second half as Arsenal finished with 9 men.
Diego Costa should have been sent off, twice: Wenger
Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger slated the match referee for failing to send the Spaniard off when he appeared to slap Koscielny. Wenger bemoaned the fact that Costa keeps getting away with his antics.
When asked if he felt a sense of injustice, the Frenchman was quoted by Goal.com as saying: “A big one, yes. Because I think Diego costa should’ve had a red card, I wouldna t like to be Mike Dean tonight.
“I cannot understand this situation. Costa, twice should have been sent off.
“Look at the situation before the cross comes in. He hits Koscielny in the face on purpose. He makes a fuss of it and in every game he is aggressive and gets away with it because of the weakness of the referee.
“I think two sendings off for us and Costa staying on the pitch is a shame.”
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Wenger admits Gabriel deserves a red card
While Wenger was not pleased with the referee for not sending off Costa, he said that the decision to send Gabriel was the right one.
“Gabriel deserves a red card and I agree, but you expect the referee to make the right decisions. Thata s all you want.”
While they did shake hands before the game, the two fierce rivals failed to shake hands with each other at the end of the match. However, downplaying suggestions that he deliberately avoided it, Wenger said that “he’s always available”.
