The FA have taken the decision to charge Diego Costa, Gabriel, Arsenal and Chelsea after the game on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.

Costa, the villain of the piece, has been charged for the ‘incident’ with Laurent Kosicelny (but not, it should be noted for kicking out at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain). In fact, we counted at least eight cards he could, and should, have received.

Like us, you might be wondering just what, exactly, the Gunners have been charged with –well, the FA have decided that they, along with Chelsea, failed to control their players during the match.

Just to top it all off, Gabriel has also been charged with improper conduct following his reaction to his sending off.

The statement on the FA’s website said:

Diego Costa has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. The Chelsea forward was involved in an incident with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny in the 43rd minute of the game. He has until 6pm tomorrow [Tuesday 22 September 2015] to reply.

Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite referees. Each referee panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence. For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision by the panel must be unanimous.

Arsenal defender Gabriel has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour following his dismissal, whilst team-mate Santi Cazorla has been warned for his behaviour following his sending off.

Finally, both clubs have been charged for failing to control their players under FA Rule E20.

Both clubs and Gabriel have until 6pm on Thursday [24 September 2015] to reply.

Arsenal, however, wasted no time in letting their intentions be known as they stated they would appeal Gabriel’s red card. They make no mention of how they will handle the additional charges but I can’t imagine they are best pleased.

Arsenal said “The club can confirm that it is appealing wrongful dismissal and the three-match ban given to Gabriel.”

It’s absolutely laughable that Arsenal have actually been hit harder than Chelsea with Gabriel now facing a lengthier ban than Costa.

Absolute farce.

Kurt Zouma has not been charged.