Chelsea's Diego Costa given 3-match ban for violent conduct in Arsenal match

Diego Costa has been handed a retrospective three-match ban by the Football Association for his antics in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Arsenal on Saturday.

Although referee Mike Dean and his officials didn't witness any of the 26-year-old's misdemeanors during the match, the punishment comes after the FA analysed video footage.

The club responded to the charge via a statement on its website:

We are extremely disappointed with the FA Regulatory Commission's decision to suspend Diego Costa. We will await their written reasons before commenting further.

The suspension sees him miss Wednesday's League Cup trip to Walsall, followed by Premier League games at Newcastle United and against Southampton.

Related: Jose Mourinho defends Diego Costa's provocative play against Arsenal

Television cameras first picked up Costa repeatedly putting his hands into the face of Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny, and later, when the French defender unsurprisingly took exception to his treatment, Costa barged him over.

Then a skirmish saw the Spaniard, along with Koscielny's defensive colleague Gabriel Paulista, yellow-carded, but Arsenal's Brazilian was dismissed seconds later after he kicked out in frustration at Chelsea's wind-up merchant.

In Costa's absence, Jose Mourinho's side is likely to turn to Loic Remy or Radamel Falcao in its attack.