Now the ’new’ Arsenal driven to distraction by Chelsea bogeymen

Arsenal’s reputation as a team which visibly winces and shrinks in the face of open aggression has been challenged recently; but Diego Costa put it right back on the table at the Emirates.

Costa, just as he was at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, was the epitome of everything that Arsenal, for some reason, just cannot deal with: which is raw, naked power and a desire to win at all costs.

Having just earned a battling draw at Stoke, another of Arsenal’s bogey teams, Arsene Wenger was bold enough to talk in his programme notes about a ‘special solidarity’ in his new-look team, while Alexis Sanchez suggested pre-match that there could be no doubt that Arsenal are serious title contenders this time.