Arsenal have made a series of statements this season, as Arsène Wenger plods the long distance towards the ultimate vindication, such as beating both of the Manchester clubs at the Emirates Stadium and even getting a result at Stoke City. Some things, however, never seem to change.
Chelsea remain their nemesis, even without José Mourinho at their helm, winding them up and, well, beating them and it was another character who they have come to loathe that was the match-winner here.
Diego Costa was involved in a red card flashpoint – as he was in Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Arsenal in September – but this time, there could be no recriminations.
The striker was simply too fast for Per Mertesacker in the 18th minute and, when the Arsenal defender slid in and got none of the ball, there was an inevitability about his dismissal for a last-man foul.
Shortly afterwards, Costa showed the clinical side to his game in front of goal, when he pounced to meet Branislav Ivanovic’s cross to fizz a shot beyond Petr Cech.
It set Chelsea on their way to a sixth win over Arsenal in nine meetings (excluding the Community Shield); the other three have been drawn and, for Arsenal, the damage was severe.
All the focus and, indeed, the pressure had been on them, with Chelsea too good to go down and too far from the top four to make too much of the remainder of their league season. And so the global audience settled down to pass judgement on Arsenal’s championship credentials but they watched them fluff their lines.
Chelsea had settled the quicker and they created the clearest opportunity when it was 11 versus 11, with Willian denied by Cech at close quarters. Oscar had earlier worked the former Chelsea goalkeeper while Arsenal could point to a miscued volley from Joel Campbell and a half-chance for Mathieu Flamini. The midfielder, though, rather lunged at the ball, as though he were making one of his tackles, and the chance slipped away.
It was another tackle that shaped the game. Willian had blasted away from Aaron Ramsey on the counterattack and the moment that he released his pass for Costa, it was clear that Mertesacker was in trouble.
Mertesacker stretched into the challenge that he had to make but Costa was too quick and, in the blink of an eye, the Chelsea striker was rolling into a series of exaggerated rolls and everybody inside the stadium knew what was coming next. The referee, Mark Clattenburg, flashed the red card. He had no other option.
