No doubt Kurt Zouma will be getting a hearty slap on the back and a “thanks mate” from Diego Costa after the Chelsea defender admitted his controversial team-mate "likes to cheat a lot".

The striker infuriated Arsenal with his antics during the 2-0 win on Saturday in which Gunners defender Gabriel sent off after clashing with the Spain international.

In a slightly clumsy choice of words that might not do Costa any favours, Zouma admitted his colleague "cheats" to put his opponents off but insists Chelsea are proud to have him in the team.

The 20-year-old Frenchman told beIN SPORTS: "Everyone knows Diego and this guy likes to cheat a lot and put the opponents out of his game, and that happened in the game. He's a real nice guy in the life and we are very proud to have him."

Costa could yet face action from the Football Association regarding his actions against the Gunners.

Following their defeat of Arsenal, Zouma believes the Blues could now kick on and put their poor start to the Premier League behind them.

Zouma said: "We don't have pressure in the dressing room, we know who we are. We had some bad results since the beginning of the season but we showed who we are and we know what we can do and we just have to keep going and there is still a long way to go."