Mourinho finds a way to beat Arsenal and bait Wenger

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0: The latest chapter in the rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho was dominated by the debate about Diego Costa’s gamesmanship, but revealed more about the two managers and their respective teams, Arsenal and Chelsea.

For all the indignation about Costa’s role in provoking Gabriel Paulista into the most ineffectual, yet costly, of retaliations, Arsenal had been suckered. They finished the game with nine men, when Santi Cazorla followed Gabriel into the dressing room, yet they were the callow innocents.

Having been backed into a corner after their worst start since 1988, Chelsea knew what they had to do to win a game that, beforehand, appeared to offer Arsenal — and Wenger — their best chance of beating a Mourinho side in the Premier League.