ARSENE Wenger was left furious and frustrated as nine-man Arsenal lost an ill-tempered encounter at Stamford Bridge this afternoon (Saturday). 

The Gunners were undone by second half goals from Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard. But it was the trademark and predictable wind-up tactics of Chelsea striker Diego Costa that created all the talking points. 

Arsenal defender Gabriel was sent off seconds before half-time for kicking out at Costa following a lengthy spat, which started with the Blues forward shoving his hands into the face of Laurent Koscielny. 

The dismissal was the turning point in the match as it handed Chelsea the momentum, while Arsenal's misery was complete when Santi Cazorla was given a second yellow card late on. 

"I accept that Gabriel should have got sent off," admitted an angry and honest Wenger after the match. "But, so should Costa. It seems he can do what he wants. Everyone else who responds to him gets sent off. 

"Look at the slow motion," Wenger added. "It tells you a lot about Costa before the initial cross even comes in." 

Having raised his hands against Koscielny, Costa should have seen red. The fact he wasn't infuriated Gabriel as the first half went into injury time, and as Costa continued to goad Gabriel, the Arsenal man lashed out with his studs. 

Referee Mike Dean had no choice but to give him a second yellow. 

"Gabriel is guilty for getting involved," said Wenger. "But Costa will get away with it every week. He always uses provocation, and he used the naivety of Mike Dean.  

"I haven't spoken to the referee, and I have nothing further to say on the matter." 

The Arsenal boss replaced Francis Coquelin with Calum Chambers for the second half in a bid to shore up the Arsenal defence, but his plans went out the window on 52 minutes when Zouma rose to head home a Cesc Fabregas free kick. 

Arsenal's misery was compounded in the 79th minute when Cazorla was shown a red card for a lunging tackle on Oscar. The Spaniard was unfortunate as his challenge looked mis-timed rather than malicious. 

Chelsea added a second approaching second half injury time when Hazard's shot cannoned off Chambers to leave Petr Cech stranded. 

Blues boss Jose Mourinho poured scorn on suggestions that Wenger should take the Diego Costa footage to the FA. "Arsene Wenger has to cope with his defeat," he said. "Diego plays like he has to play. You don't win without emotional control. 

"I think you should speak about Gabriel, and his mistake." 

ARSENAL: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin (Chambers, 46), Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil (Giroud, 74), Sanchez (Oxlade-Chamberlain, 74), Walcott

Substitutes not used: Ospina, Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta

Attendance: 41,584