5 Instances when Diego Costa could have been punished against Arsenal

To say that the latest edition of the rivalry between the two London giants in the Premier League was controversial, would be a major understatement. And where there is controversy, there shall always be one man at the centre of it for Chelsea: Diego Costa. The Brazillian-born Spanish International striker was at the centre of various tussles with the entire Arsenal team it would seem. While Arsene Wenger in his reflection after the game seemed to think that Costa should have been sent off for his antics, Jose Mourinho not surprisingly took a contrary view saying his striker was the man-of-the-match in the game. While he’s known for his aggression, Diego Costa seemed to step it up against Arsenal and got away without even earning a foul to his name, though he did get a yellow card from referee Mike Dean.We take a look at 5 incidents from the game that could have seen the Chelsea striker in trouble.

#1 Slapping Laurent Koscielny

Right before half-time and the drama that was to ensue, defining the match, Costa caught Koscielny in the face and then seemed to swing his arm around to catch him again. Had the French defender gone down from the contact, the officials might have taken notice. Play continued, with both incidents seemingly unnoticed by the referee or his assistants.

The Arsenal player did well not to respond in kind to Costa’s provocation but the same would not be true for all his team-mates. It was only the start of a chain of events that wad to follow, however, this was probably the strongest shout for a sending off from the Arsenal camp.

#2 Chest-bump on Koscielny

Costa Barges into Koscielny sending him to the ground

Immediately after the first incident, Koscielny and Costa clashed again, this was the direct catalyst for a string of events to unfold. The Spanish striker went to ground in a tussle with the Arsenal man and when he rose from the ground, it was with such vehemence that a chest bump from him sent Koscielny crashing to the ground.

While the defender may have exaggerated the impact, it was surely a reaction that could have evoked a caution at least from referee Mike Dean. However, things for the next few minutes would escalate so fast it became a blur and you can’t fault the referee for not doing much about it.

#3 Tussle with Gabriel Paulista

Gabriel Paulista then got involved, clearly unhappy with the forward’s actions on his defensive partner, which led to a tussle with the Brazillian-born striker. Costa opted to wrestle it out, perhaps seeking the very kind of reaction from Paulista that would soon be forthcoming.

Here’s where a lot of things happened at once, including a lot of tugging and pulling from both parties. Even after referee Mike Dean separated the two players and issued both of them a yellow card each Costa kept going at Paulista, not physically but verbally goading him. Eventually, the Brazilian would launch a small half-hearted kick in Costa’s direction which was enough for the referee to decide that the Arsenal man deserved a straight red.

#4 Scratching Gabriel Paulista\'s Neck

The tussle with Paulista escalated quickly, with both players having a go at each other. Costa tried to work up the defender with a heavy sarcastic pat on the back, and soon followed it up with a scratch on Paulista's neck that was once again missed by the officials. The bruises on Paulista’s neck were clear for all to be seen.

Both players were awarded a yellow card each for the whole incident, but one gets the feeling the colour of the card might have been different if the officials had seen the whole extent of the fight. It seemed like the Chelsea striker's knee-jerk reaction to Paulista’s attempts to calm him down.

#5 Diego Costa tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain

Right before Mourinho exercised prudence by substituting Costa before he racked up another yellow card, he wound up the day’s proceedings with a sneaky backheel kick at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Arsenal fans were left raging at the injustice seeing as it was not really different from the incident that earned Paulista his second yellow. Surely the last straw in a string of incidents that should have seen the Brazillian-born Spanish international sent off long before he was finally substituted.

All in all an outing not pleasant for the striker in terms of goals but as a provocateur he was spot on, something that won’t help his reputation.