The Atletico Madrid manager has warned the Gunners to be wary of Diego Costa ahead of their epic Europa League semi-final clash.

Atletico Madrid’s chances of progressing to the final of the Europa League has been boosted by news of Diego Costa’s return. The former Chelsea man was initially ruled out of the semi-final first-leg encounter after he suffered a hamstring injury.

However, per the words of the 29-year-old forward’s manager, he recovered in time to return to London once again. Arsenal fans will particularly be less enthused about Costa’s availability as he made himself unpopular by being a constant thorn in the flesh of their side during his playing days in England. 

Diego Simeone, upon being quizzed by the press as to whether Costa is capable of intimidating the Gunners again and also give his teammates a mentality boost, declared:

“Knowing Diego Costa, I think all of those apply to him.

“Both in England and in Spain, many teams have suffered at the hands of Diego Costa. Not just Arsenal.

“He [physically] has improved. He trained hard on Tuesday and he trained on Wednesday and based on what we will see fit, he will either play from the start or from the bench.

"He is just as motivated as the backup goalkeeper, for example, as all the players. 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.”

The subject in question, Diego Costa, scored three times in six games against the Gunners during his stint with Chelsea.