#2 Diego Costa vs Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi
Although Costa did miss a penalty at Anfield, you can bet your bottom dollar that the mishap will not prevent the Spaniard from wreaking havoc on the Arsenal defence come kick-off time on Saturday.
With 15 goals to his name this league season and five more assists to go with it, Costa has been a treat to watch under Conte and his never-say-die attitude has helped Chelsea greatly this season. Moreover, the 28-year-old loves to play against Arsenal and has a history of impacting this fixture in a way that Didier Drogba would be proud of.
Costa has two goals against the Gunners and it was due to him that Gabriel and Per Mertesacker have been sent off in this fixture in the recent past. Fair to say that Arsenal do not like this man.
However, Costa will be up against the formidable duo of Koscielny and Mustafi, who for the most part of this season have been amazing whenever they’ve played against each other. Although the Arsenal defence did come undone against Watford a couple of days ago, Wenger’s go-to centre back pairing have been solid in most big games and will be hoping to continue their form from before their latest defeat.
Both Mustafi and Koscielny average over one tackle per game alongside 3.5 and 2.7 interceptions respectively. While stopping Costa is not easy even for the most experienced of defenders, these two stand a real chance of nullifying the forward’s threat. Emotions will also need to be kept in check as Costa is a menace both physically and mentally – a such, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
