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.
Meanwhile, former Blues star Salomon Kalou has
let the Gunners know he wants to come back to
the Premier League.
The Ivorian, who can play as a striker or winger,
has been at Lille for the last two seasons and has a
£2.5m buy-out clause.
Last season the 28-year-old scored 14 league
goals in 28 appearances and has three in 10 this
campaign.
But now he wants a return to England, with
Tottenham and Liverpool also keen.
Daily Star reports
