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Sport

19th Sep 2015

‘The man is a genius’ – Diego Costa’s skulduggery hailed after Gabriel’s red card

Evan Fanning

You can always rely on Chelsea v Arsenal to throw up a controversy or two.

Normally it’s the two managers who find themselves the centre of attention – and the headlines – after the sides meet but this time it was all about Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

With the first half drawing to a close, Costa led Gabriel Paulista on a merry dance which ended with the Arsenal defender getting a red card.

Somehow Costa managed to stay on the pitch despite the Brazilian-turned-Spaniard thrusting his hands into Laurent Koscielny’s face, then swinging an arm at the Arsenal defender and finally, getting involved in some afters with Gabriel.

The Arsenal man fell for Costa’s skulduggery hook, line and sinker and ended up flicking a David Beckham-esque kick at the Chelsea man, leading to a second yellow card and Arsene Wenger’s side were forced to play the second half with 10 men.

But Costa’s display of the dark arts was so majestic that Twitter reacted in sheer admiration.

https://twitter.com/Knox_Harrington/status/645214331798487040

https://twitter.com/JamesPorteous/status/645214000653832192

https://twitter.com/andi_thomas/status/645213698403999744

https://twitter.com/andi_thomas/status/645213979883782144