Arsenal back to the bad old days as two sendings-off cost them the points in Chelsea defeat

By Neil Ashton for MailOnline

Published: 09:06 EST, 19 September 2015 | Updated: 09:26 EST, 19 September 2015

In the end if was back to the bad old days of Arsene Wenger’s reign, with ill-discipline and a lack of self control costing them at crucial times.

A decade or so ago and it was difficult to keep track of the number of times Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Ray Parlour and Sol Campbell were sent off in high profile fixtures.

This was a throwback into time, finishing with nine men and losing their cool against the champions after Brazilian defender Gabriel and their captain Santi Cazorla were sent off.

They were foolish, unnecessary and stupid.

Gabriel and Diego Costa square up in the first-half of Arsenal's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge

Gabriel and Diego Costa square up in the first-half of Arsenal's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge

Gabriel receives his marching orders for kicking out at Diego Costa after the two were booked for a tussle

Gabriel receives his marching orders for kicking out at Diego Costa after the two were booked for a tussle

In nearly two decades of managing the club, Wenger has watched more than 100 players disappear down the tunnel early.

In midweek he was explaining away the frustrations of Olivier Giroud after he was sent off during their Champions League defeat in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb.

It was tougher to talk his way out of this after watching two more sent off - on in each half - at Stamford Bridge.

Gabriel pushes out at international team-mate Oscar after the confrontation with Chelsea striker Costa

Gabriel pushes out at international team-mate Oscar after the confrontation with Chelsea striker Costa

Arsenal’s 1-0 victory in the Community Shield was supposed to be the game-changer, giving Arsene Wenger’s team the psychological edge going in to a new season.

Instead there is a familiar, haunting look about the scoreline again after Chelsea’s giant central defender Kurt Zouma settled this clash with a header at Stamford Bridge.

On this occasion Arsene Wenger has every right to feel aggrieved, outnumbered numerically after the farcical sending off of his young and immature central defender Gabriel.

Arsene Wenger watches on as Gabriel is marched from the field after being sent off in 2-0 defeat

Arsene Wenger watches on as Gabriel is marched from the field after being sent off in 2-0 defeat

To survive against Chelsea with 11 men is hard enough for any team, not matter how well equipped they are.

To emerge unscathed with ten is almost impossible. To finish with nine is embarrassing.

To their credit they were the better team in the first half, playing like the home side as they continually fed the clever feet of Alexis Sanchez down Arsenal’s left.

Santi Cazorla is also sent off for a second bookable offence after a strong challenge on Cesc Fabregas

Santi Cazorla is also sent off for a second bookable offence after a strong challenge on Cesc Fabregas

Sanchez rinsed Branislav Ivanovic, so often in that opening spell it was impossible to keep count of the number of times he turned Chelsea’s stand-in captain.

What they could not do was control the outcome of the game after Gabriel had been lured, predictably, into Diego Costa’s web towards the end of the first half.

It will be tough to take for Wenger, a poor finish to the week after their unexpected defeat against Dynamo Zagreb in the opening group game of the Champions League.

They will recover from that defeat, but this one is far more telling.

Arsenal have lost twice in the Barclays Premier League now: once at home to Slaven Bilic’s unorthodox West Ham team and now at the home of the champions.

This one will hurt the most because Chelsea were there for the taking, short on confidence after a traumatic start to the defence of their fourth Premier League title.

Cazorla's late tackle on Fabregas brought him a red card and Arsenal's second of the game

Cazorla's late tackle on Fabregas brought him a red card and Arsenal's second of the game

They played possession football in the first half, keeping Chelsea on their toes without ever really testing Asmir Begovic.

It was the same story in the second half, with Theo Walcott’s effort from outside the area ending up in the top tier of the Matthew Harding Stand.

Finishing with nine men is no way for a club of Arsenal’s ambitions to finish, particularly when they guy in the opposite dug out is Jose Mourinho.

You could tell by his reaction to the dismissals just how much he enjoyed this moments, feeding off the poisonous atmosphere in the stadium as these two mighty clubs clashed.

This is a big win for Chelsea, but they were gifted the points by an Arsenal team that fell into the trap of thinking they can master the dark arts.

Instead they blew a big chance to show they mean business this season.

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