Saturday 19 September 2015 20:05, UK
We take a look at the key talking points from Chelsea's 2-0 win over Arsenal.
Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard were on target for the Blues, as the visitors finished the game with nine men.
However, there was also intrigue in Chelsea's team selection, Diego Costa's antics and Petr Cech's return to Stamford Bridge...
Costa's clashes and Gabriel's red card
Two hands in Laurent Koscielny's face. A left-handed swipe at the Frenchman. A chest-bump which sent his opponent sprawling to the floor. And yet, despite Costa's antics, it was Gabriel Paulista who saw red following the Spain international's fierce first-half exchange with the Arsenal centre-backs.
Chelsea's striker walks a fine line and he could easily have been dismissed on Saturday. His substitution with 10 minutes to play was for his own good, after a clash with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Arsene Wenger branded his behaviour 'unacceptable'.
Yet, Costa's aggressive approach - constantly harrying and harassing Arsenal's players when he didn't have the ball, driving straight at them when he did - epitomised his team's desire to fight their way back into form after making the worst-ever start to a Premier League title defence.
Gabriel was foolish to kick out at Costa in front of referee Mike Dean but while Costa's behaviour prior to that condemned him to boos from the Arsenal support for the remainder of the game, the edge he brings to this Chelsea team is clearly important. Now he just needs to re-find his goal-scoring touch...
Arsenal's discipline
The red cards shown to Gabriel and Santi Cazorla were the 78th and 79th Arsenal players have received in the Premier League. Only Everton - who on Saturday had Kevin Mirallas dismissed - have had more players dismissed (80).
Arsene Wenger will no doubt blast Costa's gamesmanship but Gabriel's lack of discipline proved costly, a needless kick out at the Spain international leaving his Arsenal team-mates disadvantaged for an entire second-half against the reigning champions.
Cazorla's second yellow, for a mis-timed sliding challenge on his compatriot Cesc Fabregas, which caught the Chelsea man's shins, had less of a bearing on the contest, but dampened any hopes Arsenal supporters may still have harboured of a surprise equaliser.
The burden of compensating for those missing men told in injury time, when Hazard sealed Chelsea's win.
"I told my players before the game that to win derbies you need emotional control," Mourinho said after the match. "Without emotional control, forget it, you won't win."
Mourinho's dominance over Wenger goes on
"It can sometimes be a mental block for the players or the team when they do not win against certain teams. On that front it was good [to win the Community Shield]," Arsene Wenger told reporters in August, after securing his first victory over Jose Mourinho at the 14th attempt in all competitions.
However, come their Premier League showdown on Saturday, it was the same old story for Arsene and Arsenal against Mourinho's men.
Chelsea are now unbeaten against Arsenal in their last eight Premier League encounters (W5 D3). The Gunners have failed to score in their last five Premier League matches against the Blues and have managed just two goals in their last eight league games against them.
"We know our position at the end of the season will depend on how well we do in the big games," Wenger had said on Friday. He'll hope Arsenal can do far better when these sides meet again in January.
Terry benched but Ivanovic responds
For the first time in his career, John Terry was not selected to start a Premier League match by Jose Mourinho when fit to play.
There was a passionate embrace by the pair at the final whistle but Terry's shock omission - he was expected to return to the starting XI after watching Chelsea's Champions League cruise past Maccabi Tel Aviv from the bench - seems a significant moment in the ex-England international's career.
On Friday, Mourinho had insisted he selects the players he thinks appropriate to the game. Perhaps the thought of 34-year-old Terry up against the speed of Arsenal striker Theo Walcott forced Mourinho's hand. Terry has, after all, already been sent off once this season, when out-paced by West Brom's Salomon Rondon.
Yet, this is John Terry. Chelsea's captain and leader. The man who marshalled the country's best defence for every minute of their 2014/15 Premier League title win.
With Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill registering back-to-back clean sheets, what's next for Terry? A Capital One Cup run-out at Walsall on Wednesday night?
In contrast, Branislav Ivanovic, who has come in for criticism this season, was handed the captain's armband and a starting spot at right back.
The Serbian was targeted by Arsenal's attack - 48.5 per cent of their forward forays went down their left flank towards the Chelsea right-back. But Ivanovic stepped up to the challenge. No Chelsea player made more interceptions, clearances or successful aerial duels, proving it is wrong to write off the Blues old-guard too soon.
Cech back at the Bridge
For the first time since November 2013, Petr Cech conceded twice at Stamford Bridge. However, the Arsenal goalkeeper - hailed by the Chelsea supporters before the game - could do little to prevent his former club's double.
Fifteen of the 41 Premier League goals Arsenal have conceded since the start of last season have been headers and their backline left Cech cruelly exposed to Zouma's powerful header from Fabregas' free-kick in the second-half. A wicked deflection off Calum Chambers took Hazard's shot past him in injury time.
Cech bravely smothered the ball at the feet of Pedro in the first-half and his five saves through the game demonstrated the class which had helped him win four Premier League titles with Chelsea.
However, to collect a fifth winners' medal with Arsenal, Cech and his new team-mates must address the defensive errors which cost them against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek and for the opener on Saturday.
