Following Arsenal’s defeat to Chelsea in which Diego Costa was at the centre of all the controversy, former Arsenal manager George Graham thinks that the striker stepped over the line.
The 26-year-old got away with just a yellow card against Arsenal, and George Graham says that he will now be targeted by Premier League officials in the future.
I think (Costa) is going to be targeted man now by the officials and probably rightly so. (Didier) Drogba was the main (Chelsea) man for nearly 10 years and he was very, very physical but he didn’t take to the extremes that Costa has taken it to.
Although you’ve got to keep that physical intensity, once you step over the mark he’s got to be dealt with by officials, it’s as simple as that – and I think he will be.
The former Arsenal boss then went on to say that Arsene Wenger must be stricter with his players. Both Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla were sent off in the London derby, taking the red card tally of the club’s players to a shocking 109 under the 65-year-old.
(Wenger) is not the most strict manager and he really needs to get hold of his own players because there’s no way he (Gabriel) should have been sent off – it’s his own stupidity that got him sent off and they’ve got to handle that.
However, he went on to praise the Frenchman.
(But) Arsene does it his way and look at the record he has got in English football – he has been instrumental in getting a certain way of playing, the diet – he’s brought all these things and trophies as well so how can you fault him?
George Graham previously played for Arsenal and was an integral part of the north London club’s first ‘double’ in 1971. In 1986, he became Arsenal manager for nearly nine years and was highly successful in that period, winning the league twice including the famous last-minute 1989 title victory over Liverpool.
