Diego Costa proved to be the decisive factor in the London derby once again, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger bemoaned the fact that the Chelsea striker was the reason for two red cards for his team this season.
The Spaniard created all sorts of trouble for the Gunners in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, playing a huge part in getting defender Gabriel sent off. This time around it was Arsenal center back Per Mertesacker who saw red for a controversial tackle on Costa, who then went on to net the only goal of the game.
Arsene Wenger was unhappy after the match and addressed the impact that Arsenal’s public enemy number one has had on both the London derbies this season.
“Mertesacker made the challenge but I said he got Mertesacker sent off, you can not say it’s not true.”, he said after the match. [via: Eurosport.com]
As a matter of fact
“I haven’t seen it again, I said in the first game he got Gabriel sent off and today he got Mertesacker sent off. A fact is a fact, I do not accuse him of anything, it’s just what happened.”, the Arsenal manager said when asked about Costa.
Wenger reiterated the same thing when he was asked about it later, saying that: “I said Costa got two of our players sent off in the last two games against Chelsea. Those are only facts.
The Frenchman added that the match wasn’t as confrontational as the one at Stamford Bridge. He further admitted that, though the result was a frustrating one which saw Arsenal relinquish the top spot to Leicester City, the Gunners had even more belief in themselves after fighting it out with 10 men.
