Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Arsenal vs Chelsea: ‘Ogre’ Diego Costa not remotely scary

By Josh Sippie

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 08: Diego Costa of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on May 8, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 08: Diego Costa of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on May 8, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Arsenal used to fear the arrival of Diego Costa to their opposing lines, but recent history has left the ogre looking a bit inconsequential.

Arsenal doesn’t have a lot of luck against top tier teams. Any stat will show you that they struggle, ranking sixth in the table of how the top six do against other teams in the top six. It goes without saying then, that matched up against players like Sergio Aguero or Harry Kane, there are plaguing memories of them slotting home against the Gunners.

Related Story: Arsenal vs Chelsea Predicted Starting XI

But when it comes to Chelsea, what scares me the most is there ability to attack as a team. There isn’t an individual player that invokes fear in my heart, especially not Diego Costa.

The Spanish/Brazilian ‘ogre’ has had himself another solid season, but the stats mask the fact that, while his year has been a solid one, he slowed at the end and he did not live up to the same goal per 90 minute clip that he had two years ago when he terrorized the league.

In the past two years, he has scored one measly goal against Arsenal and added a whole zero assists. That is far from fear-inducing. Theo Walcott has scored one goal against Chelsea in the past two years too. Do Chelsea supporters think he is scary?

The biggest fear that Costa brings to the table is his ability to get under a players skin. It has worked against Gabriel Paulista and Laurent Koscielny, although retroactively, the FA repaired the situation.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

Per Mertesacker fell victim to his flopping ways when he was sent off for a tackle that, while it looked sketchy, never made contact with the opposing striker.

Costa is a mental striker. If you can avoid biting on his baiting, you will come out just fine, as Arsenal has proven. And the last time we had a defender facing Costa for the first time, it was Shkodran Mustafi in the 3-0 win early in the season. Mustafi is still shaking pieces of Costa out of his pocket to this day.

For that reason, I do not fear a composed Rob Holding having to take on Costa, or Nacho Monreal, who is a veteran just like Mertesacker.

Costa can’t get under the skin of our defense and without that weapon, he is bang average. And this is me unbiased. He draws strength from winning mental battles, which no defender is required to engage him in.

Next: 5 Players To Watch Against Chelsea

This defense may be in a shambolic state with how many injuries there are, but if they can stay tight out wide and negate Costa’s attempts at mental warfare, there is nothing to fear.