Arsenal defenders have been warned not to go near Diego Costa when they face Chelsea.
The Premier League clash is expected to be fiercely competitive and the Blues striker is undoubtedly set to be at the heart of the action.
Costa has a chequered past against Arsenal, having been involved in a spat with Gabriel that saw the Gunners ace dismissed last September.
Arsene Wenger’s side have failed to beat Chelsea in any of their last nine meetings, and Arsenal needs to cope with Costa in particular on Saturday at the Emirates.
And former Manchester United and Southampton defender Danny Higginbotham has outlined how – don’t get close
The striker has a fiery temperament, and if the Gunners give him nothing to work with, he will lose his hot streak.
“Diego Costa wants and needs to live on the edge,” Higginbotham wrote in his column for The Sun. “It’s how he gets the best out of himself.
“You’d want the Chelsea star in your team, 100 percent.
“But when you play against him one of two things happen — he either winds up the opposition centre-back or winds himself up.
“If Costa can’t wind you up, he turns it on himself. His mind goes off the game.
“So the first thing I’d say to Arsenal defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny is whenever you are up against Costa don’t let him touch you — don’t let him feel you.”
Chelsea’s hitman has been in devastating form to start the new season, scoring five goals in as many Premier League games.
Costa scored on his last visit to the Emirates, and with both teams fighting to keep in close proximity to Manchester City at the top already, the forward’s performance could prove vital.
Since the first arrival of Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2004 Arsene Wenger has won just five matches against the Blues – even during the disastrous final months of the Special One’s second tenure at Stamford Bridge Arsenal managed to shoot themselves in the foot, getting two players sent off in a 2-0 defeat.
The arrival of Antonio Conte at least offers a new take on the familiar rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea and both sides head into Saturday evening’s clash knowing that defeat could see them slip as many as eight points off early pace-setters Manchester City, who travel to Swansea earlier in the day.
Points may matter a great deal but at this early stage of the season victory over a great rival could provide serious momentum to either side, particularly for Wenger if he is able to halt his five-year winless run in the league.