Arsenal are monitoring Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa's contract situation ahead of a possible move for the Spaniard in January.
Costa, whose contract is set to expire in the summer, is believed to have asked Atletico to terminate his deal in January, having grown tired of his lack of minutes with just two starts in all competitions this season.
Atletico are keen to find a resolution for Costa, who will soon be free to speak to other clubs anyway, and AS state that Arsenal are keeping a close eye on things as they debate whether to pull the trigger on a move.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is looking for some more firepower to help struggling duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and Costa, who hasn't scored more than five goals in a single season since leaving Chelsea in 2016/17, has apparently played his way on to the radar.
However, there are a couple of problems with this one. Arsenal and Atletico aren't exactly best friends these days after the Gunners waited until the last possible second to tell Atletico they were triggering Thomas Partey's release clause in the summer, so Los Rojiblancos might not be keen on making life easier for the English side.
There's also the small matter of the fact that pretty much everyone at Arsenal hates Costa because of his past with Chelsea. The Blues' infamous 2-0 win back in September 2015, in which Costa managed to bait Gabriel Paulista into being sent off while also avoiding punishment for clashing with Laurent Koscielny, still lives long in the memory.
Nevertheless, a deal to take Costa to Arsenal would work for both sides, and it is suggested that Atletico are primarily concerned about keeping the striker away from their La Liga title rivals.
El Mundo state that there is a clause in Costa's contract which means that if he joins any of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Sevilla, the buying team will have to pay £22.7m in compensation to Atletico.
While that pay day would obviously be nice, Atletico would likely prefer to ship Costa back to England to ensure he doesn't come back to bite them.
It is expected that the 32-year-old will have plenty of suitors if he does hit the market in January, so Arsenal will be hoping that the chance to return to London proves too good for Costa to turn down.
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Source : 90min