Arsenal prepare £32m offer for Chelsea target Diego Costa

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has a crisis with his forwards after stand-in Nicklas Bendtner sprained an ankle scoring in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Cardiff.

He will be out for at least six weeks and first-choice Olivier Giroud is also missing due to an ankle injury.

Costa, 25, has a £32m buyout clause in his Atletico Madrid contract and it would be a huge investment for the north Londoners following the £42.5m purchase of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in the summer.

Brazil-born striker Costa – who last year declared he wants to play for Spain – has scored a staggering 19 goals in just 17 La Liga appearances this season.

Starsport understands Chelsea are also keen on Costa, and were planning to make their move in the summer.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho maintains he will not sign a striker during this transfer window.

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Dortmund join the race to sign Arsenal and Chelsea target Diego Costa

Athletico have shown resistance to a move, but with Europe's elite lining up the Madrid club's resolve could be tested.

Chelsea are desperate for a potent striker as Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba continue to misfire and Arsene Wenger has made it clear he was not in the market for a midfielder, freeing up funds to try and get the Brazilian to the Emirates.

But with Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski due to announce any day that he is leaving Borussia for bitter rivals Bayern Munich at the end of the season they also need to act fast.

And if they miss out on Costa there aren't many top quality strikers available for the £34m release clause listed in the Brazilian's contract.

The Atletico Madrid hierarchy have been talking tough, but if one of the big clubs sniffing around Costa cough up the cash the decision will be take out of their hands.

Radamel Falcao's transfer from Atletico to Monaco last season seems to have given Costa a new lease of life and he has moved out of the shadows of the bustling Colombian, scoring 23 goals in 20 appearances this term.

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Caminero : Diego Costa is not leaving

Atletico Madrid sporting director Jose Luis Caminero told to the media that its impossible that Diego Costa is going to leave the Vicente Calderon in January.

There have been speculations of a potential exit has been fuelled by the €38 million release clause of Atletico's star contract.

Caminero also insists that the 25-year-old, who has scored 19 goals in 17 league games, will not be leaving the club, despite interest from big clubs in Europe.

“Right now, Costa does not think of leaving, he is hooked with Atletico,” he explained in an interview with Marca.

Under the management of head coach Diego Simeone, Atletico have gradually bridged the gap between themselves and city rivals Real and currently sit joint top of La Liga with Barcelona.

Nevertheless, a regular theme in recent years has been the departure of key players – most recently the summer sale of Radamel Falcao to Monaco – but Caminero is not interested in selling more top stars.

The sporting director continued: “Diego is happy here. He just renewed his contract, demonstrating that he wants to stay here,

“He knows how this club works, money won't be a problem."

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Arsenal watching Diego Costa as a potential January transfer window move

Arsenal have been scouting Diego Costa but remain doubtful about their prospects of signing the Atletico Madrid striker in January.

Costa’s brilliant start to the season has alerted interest in his situation but he has been watched by Arsenal since last season and it is understood that there would be a reluctance to immediately stretch to a buyout clause which is reportedly in excess of £30 million.

Arsenal, though, are actively interested and aware that he is one of the few leading strikers in Europe who is potentially available in January. Chelsea, who are also looking for a striker, are another club monitoring Costa's situation.

There have been no bids at this stage and, after the misunderstanding last summer over Luis Suarez’s possible “buyout” clause, Arsenal would want to know where they stand before formalising their interest.

Costa has replaced Radamel Falcao this season as Atletico’s talisman and has scored 21 goals in 21 games.

His form, however, means that he is pushing for a place in the Spain World Cup summer next year – should he succeed in switching his allegiance from Brazil - and there is an argument that his immediate international ambitions would be better served by staying in La Liga.

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