Diego Costa ends Arsene Wenger's hopes of fairytale ending with Arsenal in the Europa League

Arsene Wenger will still be having nightmares about Diego Costa long after he takes charge of his final Arsenal fixture later this month.

The snarling centre forward ended the French coach’s hopes of a fairytale ending with the Gunners as he inspired Atletico Madrid to victory in the Europa League semi-final.

Costa knows the north Londoners all too well from his time at Chelsea and the Spanish international hasn’t forgotten how to pick the Arsenal lock.

He’s scored more goals against Wenger’s team than any other English club, however none of his previous strikes will have hurt the departing manager more than this one.

Arsenal’s Premier League campaign is already as good as over.

Their hopes of finishing in the top four are long gone, Burnley only three points worse off in the standings, this was the final call for the 68-year-old. This was his last chance.

He spoke earlier this week of wanting to deliver the Europa League as a parting gift as he waves goodbye to the club he has called home for the last 22 years.

Perhaps he should have been bolder on a night that called for heroes to step forward and there was one potential match-winner sitting on the bench.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan starred in Manchester United’s triumph in this competition last year but was only named as a substitute as Wenger took no risks with his fitness.

The Gunners were forced into an early reshuffle at the back when Laurent Koscielny went down in a heap with an injury that looks certain to rule him out of the World Cup.

One dream shattered and another would soon follow.

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But not before some encouraging signs for the visitors at the Wanda Metropolitano with Atletico contained and Arsenal looking fairly comfortable at times.

Diego Godin was a monster at the heart of the Madrid defence and looked unbeatable as he marshalled the backline superbly.

Costa and Antoine Griezmann carried a threat at the sharp end and it was the former Blues man who found the breakthrough at the worst possible time for the Premier League side.

The duo combined in a fluid counter attack that left David Ospina exposed and Costa made no mistake to find the net in first-half stoppage time.

A real hammer blow, Wenger had work to do in the dressing room at the interval, Arsenal needing to score in the second period to take the game to extra time.

He needed a response from his side and they produced a more energetic and adventurous performance after the restart in search of that elusive opening.

The warning signs remained though as Atletico always looked dangerous with Costa and Griezmann continuing to wreak havoc in the Arsenal defence.

Mkhitaryan was summoned from the bench with 20 minutes to go and almost made an instant impact with a stinging drive that skimmed the top of the crossbar.

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The game became stretched as Arsenal piled forward, leaving huge gaps, knowing the clock was ticking down in the tie and ultimately in their season.

Costa was withdrawn to a standing ovation, his work was done, replaced by another face from the past as Fernando Torres entered the fray for the final stages.

Wenger looked on desperately in need of a piece of magic.

There was none forthcoming and the home supporters raised the noise to roar their team home and into the final in Lyon.

What next for Wenger?