Costa out to make Gunners suffer

DIEGO SIMEONE has warned Arsenal that Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa is ready to make them ‘suffer’ in tonight’s Europa League semi-final. Costa has overcome his hamstring injury and Simeone says he has brought the former Chelsea forward back to England to intimidate Arsene Wenger’s side at the Emirates Stadium. Costa has a history of scoring goals and causing scraps against Arsenal, and Simeone will make a late call on whether to start him tonight. ‘Both in England and in Spain, many teams have suffered at the hands of Diego Costa, not just Arsenal,’ Simeone said. ‘He has improved. He trained hard on Tuesday and trained on Wednesday. He will either play from the start or from the bench. ‘We’ll weigh up all the various factors. We’ll speak with the footballer, speak with the medical team.’ Asked whether Costa (left) had come to London to intimidate Arsenal or to give his team-mates a boost of confidence, Simeone said: ‘Knowing Diego Costa, I think all of those apply to him. We are all very determined and motivated for this Europa League semi-final. We know we will be up against a tough team who will cause us problems and Arsenal will demand us to be at our best.’ Liverpool saw off Roma 5-2 in the Champions League semi-finals at Anfield on Tuesday and Simeone says he is expecting an equally raucous European night at the Emirates. ‘We saw the atmosphere at Liverpool and I’m expecting the exact same thing,’ said the Argentine. ‘Lots of passion, lots of pride.’ With Wenger set to leave Arsenal after 22 years at the helm, Simeone was asked for his opinion of the long-serving Frenchman. ‘The first thing that comes to mind is admiration,’ he said. ‘I want to observe and learn from him and the best word is admiration.’ On the soon-to-be-vacant position at the Premier League club, he added: ‘I haven’t spoken with anyone at Arsenal. I love it here at Atletico.’