Arsenal Should Be Wary of Wasting Time Flirting with Diego Costa in January

Arsenal's scouts are scouring the continent, hoping to deliver Gunners fans the perfect (albeit belated) present in the January transfer window.

According to John Drayton of the Daily Mail Online, Arsene Wenger and his team are paying particularly close to attention to Atletico Madrid's hotshot striker Diego Costa. Drayton reports:

"

Arsenal are continuing to watch Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa, with the Brazilian goal machine carrying a £32million release clause.

Gunners scouts will travel to Atletico's two games this week against Sant Andreu and Levante, but it is thought the North London club do not wish to stretch to the 25-year-old's release clause.

"

Scouting Costa is understandable. Any elite club in Europe would be crazy to ignore his explosive form.

This season, he seems like a man transformed. When Atletico allowed the prolific Falcao to join Monaco, many feared there would be a significant shortfall in goals.

Costa has single-handedly ensured that this is not the case.

Costa has already scored 21 goals in 21 games for Atletico Madrid. His 17 La Liga goals in just 16 matches means he shares level-pegging at the top of the Spanish scoring charts with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. It's no wonder that he was the subject of a tug of war between Spain and Brazil for his international services.

His physical style would be suited to the Premier League. Costa has the build and the power to face off against the toughest defenders. Four Champions League goals in three appearances shows he is no flat-track bully. He is mixing it up with the very best.

However, it is precisely that excellent form that makes a January transfer hugely improbable.

Costa's goals have propelled Atletico to second place in La Liga, ahead of close neighbours and rivals Real Madrid. Diego Simeone's team have also progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League, where they'll face a glamorous tie with AC Milan.

If, as the Drayton suggests, Arsenal are unwilling to meet Costa's release clause, then they have no chance of signing the striker. Atletico will not countenance letting such an important player go at a crucial stage of a hugely promising season.

Costa could be a long-term target for Arsenal, but the Gunners would be ill-advised to expend too much energy on a futile chase in January. Arsene Wenger badly needs to add a striker to his ranks to augment his team's title challenge and would be wise to focus on more attainable targets.

Perhaps all Wenger wants for Christmas is Costa in an Arsenal shirt. However, this flirtation seems unlikely to have happy a conclusion in the forthcoming transfer window. 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013/14 season. Follow him on Twitter here.