Football, Rugby, UFC, GAA
All free when you join eir Broadband
Wenger regrets not signing Costa
Arsene Wenger says he regrets that Arsenal didn't try to sign Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid in 2014.
The Spain international joined Arsenal's Premier League rivals Chelsea in a £30m deal two years ago, but Wenger says he would have tried to scupper the move if he had known the Brazil-born striker was up for sale.
Costa went on to net 20 goals to lead Chelsea to the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge, and has recovered his scoring touch under new boss Antonio Conte this season with five goals in as many games after struggling last term.
"I never thought he would leave Atletico Madrid at the time, I was surprised," Wenger said.
"Would I have made a harder play for him had I known? Yes. I like him, as a quality striker."
Wenger says Costa, whose Chelsea side visit Arsenal this evening in a game to be shown live on BT Sport 1 (kick off 5.30pm), sometimes treads a fine line with his gamesmanship, but the Frenchman prefers to focus on the 27-year-old's qualities.
"You want full commitment from every single player," he said.
"But commitment is different from these kind of over-reactions. He is a fighter and you respect that. The rest is down to the referees to get the game and the rules respected.
"He is similar to [Didier] Drogba because he's a top-quality player"
Setanta Sports is now eir Sport. We have 6 great channels of live sport including eir Sport 1 & 2 and all 4 BT Sport channels. The eir Sport pack is free to all eir broadband customers. To learn more about setting sport free visit www.eir.ie/sport
Soccer News
Zebo exit "a big loss", says Best
17:50 | TodayIreland captain Rory Best says the departure of Munster winger Simon Zebo will be "a big loss" to Irish rugby.
Modric backs Spurs to win league under Pochettino
12:50 | TodayReal Madrid playmaker Luka Modric says his former club Tottenham can win the Premier League under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Players will fight for Conte, says Courtois
11:44 | TodayChelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says manager Antonio Conte has the full support and backing of his players.
Unsworth wants Everton job
16:10 | TodayEverton caretaker manager David Unsworth says he wants the job on a permanent basis.
Bilic won't blame summer signings
16:58 | TodayUnder-fire West Ham manager Slaven Bilic insists his summer signings "are not letting me down".
Top Stories
Zebo is making a huge "sacrifice", says Sexton
19:51 | TodayLeinster out-half Johnny Sexton has spoken of his Ireland team-mate Simon Zebo's decision to leave Munster for Racing 92, branding it as a "sacrifice".
Fennell "buzzing" to be back after injury
10:53 | TodayEamon Fennell is "buzzing" to be back in action for St Vincent's after two years of injury woe.
What's On Now
What’s in the eir Sport Pack?
We’ve got heartstopping action across 7 great sports channels, with 42 Premier League games, every Champions League game and every Europa League game, as well as UFC, Allianz Leagues GAA, Golf, F1 and much more.
