The repercussions of this fractious derby have the potential to rumble on for weeks. Aside from the bans to be served they will be felt in Chelsea’s renewed conviction, a team more recognisable from last season’s dominant force, and those familiar fragilities exposed in Arsenal’s latest challenge to usurp them. Arsène Wenger’s disgust at Diego Costa’s antics eventually gave way to a lament over Gabriel Paulista’s naivety. The manager bemoaned his own player’s lack of discipline but, deep down, he must crave a dash of the streetwise snarl that had undone his charges so spectacularly.
It has not quite escalated to the level of Didier Drogba’s annual humiliation of Philippe Senderos, but Costa has started to haunt Arsenal’s backline. He is the brute they struggle to quell, a player whose antics can appear more suited to the playground than the street, but whose sly blend of theatrics and aggression does, as José Mourinho suggested, make for compulsive viewing. If he was a surprise package last season then defenders should know what to expect when they confront him these days. That does not justify the barges or whacks, scratches or even appeals to the officials while brandishing imaginary yellow cards, but his approach rarely wavers. As both managers made clear, retaining emotional control in the face of provocation is half the battle in a contest as ferocious as this.
It was Gabriel who cracked. It might have been his central defensive partner, Laurent Koscielny, but the Frenchman railed only momentarily at the slap, swing and chest bump to the turf just before half-time on Saturday which ultimately left the visitors undermined. Gabriel stepped in, possibly initially as an unlikely peacemaker, and was soon going toe-to-toe with the Chelsea player in front of the referee. That squabble dragged on as they retreated to the halfway line, with the defender eventually wound up to the extent he flicked out with a boot. As soon as contact was made, Costa knew he had reeled him in.
Perhaps this was Gabriel revisiting the pair’s clash during their time in Spain, when Costa’s elbow in the centre-half’s ribs during a draw between Atlético Madrid and Villarreal almost two years ago had gone unpunished. “We warn them not to get involved, and I don’t understand Gabriel because he usually looks a calm boy,” said Wenger. “For me, it’s not difficult to stay calm. I don’t believe it is. You have to be above [anything that is said]. That’s part of the game. For me, to be professional is to deal with that.
“You can spit in my face and, if it’s in a game, then I will not respond. I do not guarantee that outside of the game. What I mean is that the desire to win has to be above all of that. You stand up to it in a controlled way. We are equipped to respond, but we always have to keep control of our response.”
That they did not arguably reveals why, on one level, this Chelsea team boasted the wherewithal to win last year’s title and Arsenal did not. Whether Costa’s tactics were worthy of condemnation or not, his opponent’s reaction was immature and Gabriel’s departure condemned his team.
They were overworked and infuriated from then on, with Santi Cazorla following his team-mate down the tunnel for a pair of soft yellows before the end while Costa left all-comers battered and bruised.
The striker was booked for his tête-à-tête with Gabriel but was not penalised for a foul all afternoon. The officials even missed a late shoulder barge on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with the ball long gone which prompted his tactical withdrawal though, even then, Costa seemed to argue with the Chelsea bench over the logic in taking him off. He certainly suggests he is in complete control of every action, the wild eyes a deception and his plan always to unsettle, and is convinced it will not provoke sanction. He must feel untouchable. And, indeed, why would he not when he has not been sent off in five years?
Wenger, whose side eventually succumbed to goals by Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard, was left appealing to Mike Dean’s better nature over Costa’s original clash with Koscielny in the hope the authorities may impose retrospective punishment on the striker. Arsenal feel the referee did not spot the initial slaps – the referee’s report is due with the Football Association on Monday – so Costa can hardly rest easy having been banned for three matches in January after video footage confirmed a stamp on Liverpool’s Emre Can.
“I would like them, especially Mike Dean, to look at the whole action that happened during the game and see if he stands for his decision,” said Wenger. “But you have a fourth official, you have a linesman, the referee and they talk all the game. They know Diego Costa. He is not a newcomer. He was here for a year now. It is surprising.
“I tell you something, if I am a referee and I referee Diego Costa, I do not send somebody off quickly if he responds because you know he has been well provoked.” Gabriel should still have known better, and now Arsenal, with a Capital One Cup derby against Tottenham Hotspur to come on Wednesday, must pick up the pieces.
Man of the match César Azpilicueta (Chelsea)