Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has stated that he would have loved to have played against Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

The Spain striker has attracted criticism for provoking Gunners centre-back Gabriel in an incident which saw the Brazilian defender sent off in Saturday's 2-0 defeat to the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Keown has insisted that he would not have fallen for Costa's antics had he come up against him.

"Once in a while I wish I could beam a current player back to my era so I could play against them," Keown wrote in the Daily Mail.

"Diego Costa is top of that list. I was a little bit crazy and I'm pretty sure he is too, so I'd love to go toe-to-toe with him and show him that I wouldn't be bullied by him.

"Costa has a black belt in the dark arts. He plays his opponents as much as he plays the match, constantly trying to draw a reaction from and bully defenders."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has demanded that referee Mike Dean reviews Costa's behaviour.