Arsène Wenger labelled Diego Costa clever for the part he played in Per Mertesacker’s early dismissal and bemoaned the “emotional damage” inflicted on Arsenal in their latest defeat by Chelsea, after an opportunity was missed to return to the top of the Premier League. Mertesacker was dismissed for a professional foul on Costa, who was racing on to Willian’s fine through-ball, after only 18 minutes of this derby; the centre-back’s sending-off was the third for an Arsenal player in meetings between these teams this season. Costa had induced one of those red cards from Gabriel Paulista back in mid-September, a sanction later rescinded on appeal when the Chelsea forward was...
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