Ashley Cole on the real reason he wanted to leave Arsenal for Chelsea | MOTD

Ashley Cole tells Gary Lineker that he saw "holes" in the winning culture at Arsenal when big players left and weren't replaced, which is why he wanted to leave the club and join London rivals Chelsea in 2006.
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Ashley Cole on the real reason he wanted to leave Arsenal for Chelsea | MOTD

[@crud9439]

One of the best left backs in history, and the best for England

[@AbdurRahman-mb1vr]

Amazing left back. So underrated

[@calteckk]

Exactly. I don't get why people think he isn't atleast on the same level as Roberto Carlos.

[@dannycole100]

@@calteckk because. He's not maybe just a level below.

[@AbdurRahman-mb1vr]

@@calteckk Carlos was more of showman. I don't think he was the best left back in the world. He just had a really good team around him while Ashley played with so many levels of players and always played great every game. But both world class left backs

[@mariospanna8389]

Great player but you have to remember he couldn't defend to save his life up untill he was 25/6, i'm guessing he really knuckled down on the defensive part of his game because it was a huge weakness for a lot of years. After that i thought all round he was the best LB of that period.

[@mrmeyep]

Hated him for leaving arsenal but have to admit he made the right choice, he was also amazing at both clubs.

[@Rahat-cg8rv]

@@NoUSer5 that statement is even funnier because you're an arsenal fan lol. By the way Sanchez and hleb could be the exceptions...

[@thrilla72]

@@NoUSer5 At that most definitely. The fans need to direct their anger to the owners. No one here would be happy in a job where they are underpaid, overworked but yet the company isn't performing or trying to improve.

[@Rahat-cg8rv]

@@thrilla72 completely agree, the owner took the club for granted. It was always a profit machine for kroenke, no real ambition...

[@redlavish7027]

Gooner 4Life What about overmars petit anelka viera hleb sanchez cesc. I ain’t even an arsenal fan but that’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve read.

[@sg2580]

I grew up with him and he broke my heart but time is a good healer 💯

[@Quincy82AAC]

I was upset when Ashley Cole left Arsenal, but made the right career choice when look back on his football career because he won trophies for both Arsenal and Chelsea.

[@hoze1235]

champions league

[@biglez5577]

He's a wank

[@mattashman1436]

Big Bumpin Ronaldo said he was the toughest player he come up against. Not too bad for a “wank” player is it?

[@Quincy82AAC]

@@biglez5577 I disagree with you because he the greatest England left back ever and I am a Arsenal fan saying this.

[@joelm6632]

He was annoyed that he wasn’t made captain after vieira left, and he was very stroppy about it so it’s probably for the best that he ledt

[@victoromoseh3522]

Ashley Cole is one of the greatest left back in the world, NO CAP ❤🙏

[@wrekadizzle6323]

He came to Chelsea to win ol big ears, and that he done and slotted his pen away, Chelsea legend!

[@behehehdbbdeiednebsbsmsns2892]

Racist, scummy club who brought all their success. Arsenal are the pride of London and always will be the biggest club never Chelsea.

[@pdrip1946]

@@behehehdbbdeiednebsbsmsns2892 Loooool talk about Chelsea when you win a Champions League you deluded arsenal fan

[@macdesigns854]

Behehehdbbd Eiednebsbsmsns a team that’s never won a champions league, Dont ever compare the two again 😂

[@JudasPriestSUCKS]

@@behehehdbbdeiednebsbsmsns2892 You need a reality check. Get a grip

[@oscarob3463]

@@JudasPriestSUCKS Chelsea is a tiny club

[@francisdubem5084]

Best left-back I’ve ever seen play for Arsenal in my lifetime. I was gutted when he left but we can’t blame him. The manner of the way he left could of been better but he went on to achieve great things in his career. Best left-back in premier league history. One of the greatest in world football. Would of loved it if he stayed at Arsenal but life goes on.

[@corpgov]

Sagna was better in my book

[@MrAndyroni]

@@corpgov Sagna didn't play left back

[@ameenr9129]

Well said

[@ralteh3390]

@@corpgov Sagna is rb

[@chrisrowe7503]

The fact he left us is something we could have forgiven him for. The fact he chose to go to Chelsea and then jumping on the classless Chelsea bandwagon to attack Arsenal is something he will never be forgiven for. You don't disrespect your boyhood club who gave you a career like that under any circumstances. Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and even Newcastle wanted to sign him. He could have chosen any of them but he chose Chelsea. The very club that triggered the problems between Ashley Cole and Arsenal in the first place. I also blame John Terry and Frank Lampard as there is no doubt in my mind they spent the entire world cup egging Cole on to release his autobiography and join Chelsea. Prior to the world cup Cole got the contract he wanted in fact it was risen from £60k to £75k a week. I doubt Cole will ever be truthful if we are honest.

[@michaelglynn7010]

Hands down one of the best fullbacks in history.

[@josemourinho2820]

Yep, one of the best English players EVER.

[@k.more1995]

Lol, just that

[@corpgov]

he wasn't a classy left back like Zambrotta, or a dangerous one like R Carlos. Did his job well

[@NervesObviously]

Ashley Cole l, Chelsea & England Legend ! The Greatest Left Back England Has Ever Produced. Thank You For Your Service.

[@disobeytoday4685]

Only because Dennis Irwin was born a couple of hundred miles too far to the West

[@waynemarshall8836]

@@disobeytoday4685 dont be stupid

[@disobeytoday4685]

@@waynemarshall8836 Don't disrespect Dennis Irwin

[@jonathanalexander6912]

@@disobeytoday4685 I think he means the greatest left back that British ( UK) has ever produced, not the greatest left back to ever play in premier league that is two different things. Dennis Irwin is an Irish instead of playing for Manchester United and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest left back ever in EPL history

[@MohamedMohamed-oc1cb]

Arsenal and Ashley have moved on. It’s all in the past. It’s time we celebrate his career. Proper defender.

[@biglez5577]

He's a wank

[@BeastBoy69631]

Money

[@areebsiddiqui758]

@@biglez5577 Greatest left back England produced. Had Ronaldo in his back pocket. Sure, he's definitely wank.

[@areebsiddiqui758]

@@BeastBoy69631 Maybe, but more importantly titles.

[@johannesvonsaaz3987]

Mohamed Mohamed eid Mubarak habibi

[@brandonbr3796]

He was in Chelsea's amazing win of the league and Arsenals Invincibles. Arguably one of the best LB ever 🙌

[@VictorVonDoom.]

Arsenal fans hating on him joining Chelsea and helping them winning trophies, but had no problem Sol joining us from Tottenham and helping us win trophies

[@hakc97again]

Football fans are hypocrites.

[@TEAMRONALDO1]

As an Arsenal fan I still have a soft spot for Ashley Cole because of how good he was and he never really fed into the drama of the situation when he moved from Arsenal to Chelsea he just got on with it and played the game.

[@Taporeee]

When I heard this conversation I almost swerved off the road

[@ralph4415]

Uuuuuh, that made me laugh

[@subashgrg4666]

Arsenal and Chelsea legend, Best left back in the premier league, 7 FA cups, a champions league and handful of prem league titles. What a career!

[@stephencooper5155]

People citing his career at Chelsea as point proved are missing the point. Some players look around, see no leaders and decide to be one. Some move and want to stay in the shadows and coast. If he stayed, became a rock at the back and led that team, we weren't that far off Chelsea and did it on a tenth of the budget too.

[@francisdubem5084]

Fair point but everyone is different. He didn’t have time to wait for our younger players to mature.

[@syedhasan4572]

It's not the same, he was already Arsenal first team player & people he admired left or in the process of leaving. As a human being, we have tendencies to follow the crowd. In his case it was following his ex teammates to the exit door of Arsenal. If he was a fringe player, I think he could probably wanted to be the leader when the adults were gone.

[@traductionscultureen-arver2307]

As an arsenal fan, i think he's absolutely right about the training density and the type of players. When ljunberg, pires, Vieira, the defenders, and Henry left, there was no one anymore with not only that physical strength but also the intensity on training. Look only at arsenal training. It seems like they are walking everytime. Even their hard training are very low in intensity. When I compare that to Atletico Madrid, Bayern or even Man City, these are 3 times more intense in their training. In the profile of players that followed the 1998-2006 era there are very few ready to the physical battles and intensity, even only the mentality for. I would say maybe flamini, kolo Toure, Fabregas,... There are in no way comparable to Ashley Cole, Vieira, Keown, Lauren, Ljunberg, Sol Campbell... Those players could hold on 120 minutes against any team with full intensity. Pretty much like liverpool et Atletico are today. Or the Bayern of Jupp Heynckes. Arsenal were great technically and did a great season in 2007-2008, and had some great runs in others season. But they couldn't match the athleticism, physicality, and intensity of others teams. Like Chelsea, etc. And so they could not win some games in an ugly manner. A 1-0 away without playing well. While chelsea and man u could..

[@jayLo28829]

I’m sorry but he’s already admitted that he thought an offer from 27k to 55k was insulting, so he left for Chelsea and got 90k. As an arsenal fan I don’t begrudge players leaving for money (got to look after yourself)... but admit it for what it was. Money. All that stuff about winning culture is easy to say retrospective. At that point we had barely stopped winning things.

[@aaronaaron5861]

No henry and vieira? Better leave arsenal asap

[@francisdubem5084]

That wasn’t the reason, we offered him 60k then lowered to 55k. That was wrong of Arsenal. He already said we didn’t replace the players that we sold.

[@ShubhamSingh-dv6nb]

He learned the art of seeing holes from Kevin Lee.

[@fredmarpambo98]

Underrated comment 🤣

[@am32ireland]

Tony Fergusson is the best left back to never play the game... those elbows would be handy at set pieces...

[@Soldiertjj]

Hahahaha many won’t even realize this comment 😂

[@ShubhamSingh-dv6nb]

@@am32ireland 🤣🤣

[@ShubhamSingh-dv6nb]

I can imagine him giving bloody cuts to opposition players when he is in a scuffle inside the box.

[@UKbeats]

Best English LB Ever. Regardless of clubs and what he achieved, his defending/footballing ability was consistently top level!

[@thehitman6963]

Greatest premier league left back. Coming from a Arsenal fan ❤️❤️ 💯

[@dh5379]

He made the right choice tbh

[@andrew2450]

@@AOK342 or shut up he made the choice to come to us deal with it

[@purge9027]

As an Arsenal fan I don’t blame him. After our club legends left Arsenal has never been the same 👍🏾

[@daverobertson623]

I refuse to believe you are an Arsenal fan.

[@purge9027]

@@daverobertson623 say what you want, Henry even left to win the CL

[@thedrip4921]

Arsenal fan. Ashley Cole that guy, best left back behind Carlos 👍

[@Imalittlejimmy]

best left back the prem has ever seen.

[@shahzadirani]

Nah, that's Dennis Irwin.

[@HowTheLittlePiggiesWillGrunt]

Any player that leaves Arsenal he made the right career choice!

[@qaadironilewura8997]

Loool. This is Golden.

[@zakattack7896]

True. Except for Alexis

[@chrisb4474]

Really?

[@HowTheLittlePiggiesWillGrunt]

@@zakattack7896 yes 🤣

[@Zak-vy1qv]

Alexis Sanchez,Adebayor,Nasri

[@gregory1347]

I've been watching football since 1976, following the English, Spanish, German and Italian leagues. Ashley Cole and Marcelo are probably the greatest left backs I've ever seen play. I'd say that over their whole careers, Marcelo was probably a bit better offensively but Ashley was better defensively. Overall I think Ashley slightly edges it because I'd say his defensive game was on the same world class level as his offensive game. Ashley Cole is probably also the best technical player of that England generation.

[@marcelchalobah7946]

Cole is the best left back to play the game

[@dendenn7383]

So we're just gonna disrespect Paolo Maldini like this yeah? We're just gonna call him the best technical player of that England era and disrespect Rooney?

[@pipbeale]

I agree, my fav too. Maldini is best ever but I'd have him as left cb. Lahm third.

[@BobbyTheBob13]

Roberto Carlos plays tennis

[@Bourne15iveGaming]

Roberto Carlos over both. Sorry.

[@leejervis7054]

A true chelsea legend that in my eyes doesn’t get enough praise the best left back in the world

[@francisdubem5084]

You can’t ignore what Ashley Cole achieved at Arsenal.

[@ernestoyounes2946]

Damn he went smart, saw the red flag, and left for a better paycheck and a team that wants to win. The real winner is here folks.

[@UKbeats]

He said in the interview it was nothing to do with money, it was about Arsenals team getting old and falling apart and them not repairing the holes.

[@0304Gooner]

As an Arsenal fan I don't blame him for leaving but the way he left was dirty and I blame him for that. Great player

[@0304Gooner]

@Terrance Tibbs how? Explain

[@BabsW]

"I almost crashed my car [in disgust]", Ashley Cole said, after being offered £55,000 a week instead of the £60,000 a week he wanted. LMAO!

[@gunner0479]

It was all money

[@dbigdog79]

I would of given him a 20k raise!

[@phildemetriou440]

@@dbigdog79 If it wasn't your money though eh ? 😉

[@phildemetriou440]

Yep. Summed up Cashley perfectly in 1 sentence !👍👌

[@bendover6087]

@@gunner0479 so what? Don't work cause it's all about the money? Sick burn bro

[@stuart9237]

What a player he was. World class.

[@bigs7006]

Hands down the best left back in football history

[@benc6589]

What a fantastic reimagining of how things went down. Left because the club went back on their word, that’s it.

[@samba3968]

Loved Ashley Cole although I’m a United fan. Ashley Cole was one of the best left backs ever for me!. Don’t get me wrong yes roberto Carlos was an absolute legend, runner up in 1998 and Champion in 2002. But Ashley Cole had something so special in him as a player. Carlos was a baller but when it came to defending Ashley Cole was the goat. He was a masterclsss at defending.

[@isaiah5480]

Loved him for moving to Chelsea. Won us so many trophies. One of the best LBs to ever do it. Legend 💙💙

[@TWW-zk9gw]

On reflection, Kenny Sansom may well have been as good as Ashley. Very difficult comparison to make though, going off memories of a different era. But Sansom was the best of his generation by miles, just like Cole.

[@TheMatrixG]

As an arsenal fan, he is telling the truth. Our core was breaking apart and it was the best for his career to leave arsenal

[@generalminusarchives1399]

Ashley Cole in 2017 - "I laugh to myself about Arsenal's struggles since I left".

[@francisdubem5084]

It’s in the past now he came out last year and said he regretted the way he left. Life’s too short to hold grudges Arsenal fans and Ashley Cole have learnt this over time.

[@bigdentonthebear7399]

the year when we fucked up your double.

[@andrew2450]

@@bigdentonthebear7399 who cares the pl title was more Important than an fa cup when the last time you won it , and anyway we fucked up your opportunity to play in the champions league last season so take that

[@generalminusarchives1399]

@@francisdubem5084 I know mate, I'm not holding a grudge against him and I respect him for his time at the club. I'm just letting people know that he's said some questionable things in the past and it's up to you whether you forgive him or not.

[@generalminusarchives1399]

@@bigdentonthebear7399 I'm a Gooner mate!

[@edstar7167]

I am over it. Wasn't happy when he made that move, but he's still an invincible, so he's cemented his place in Arsenal's history.

[@babatundeoladipo4354]

You need to pick the right choice for yourself irrespective of what people would say. He succeeded at Chelsea FC.

[@MD_ENTERTAINMENT]

I thought he was going to say maybe he could give them to Alan Shearer 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@Neo_Rain146]

Ashley has a great career and will always be a legend

[@RoyalBlue292]

Winning everything with Chelsea couldn't get any better. Any player that leaves Arsenal he made the right career choice!

[@shezanhussain2755]

At one point he was the best LB in the world at the time full backs excelled in 1 department either attacking or defending this man had both

[@daedralord1]

Bbc sport is allergic to uploading a video thats over 5 minutes long. Someone tell them youtube removed the time cap over 10 years ago

[@thefactisfactis]

Ashley Cole, great player at Arsenal. Absolute legend at Chelsea. Right up there with the best left backs of all time for sure.

[@minatodroger7890]

Man is apart of an invincible team and also apart of the only team in london to win a UCL. My god man that's crazy

[@shakur3259]

He did deserve a pay rise to be fair, it’s a shame how things turned out to be with arsenal but he did make good career choice tbh, half of the players that played for arsenal done the same as him later on anyway, fabregas, nasri, rvp etc

[@burlhorse61]

arsenal always let the best players leave-nothing new there.its a shame everyone thinks he wanted more money

[@syedkabirgooner]

Same with all the players who left Arsenal. Never replaced Vieira and then it was Cole, Campbell, Lauren and Pires and after that, Lehmann, Henry, Gilberto and Ljungberg and then the invincibles were no more. The mistake Arsenal made was not replacing those players with like for like quality. Only Fabregas and Van Persie had the world class quality.

[@khalidtaib7590]

Our Chelsea hero 💙💙🤍😍 we miss you legend. Proper guy and what a fabulous footballer he was. If Cristiano Ronaldo says that he’s the toughest player I faced then that pretty much sums up Ashley’s career. Won trophies in arsenal and became a legend in west London 💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@Benza96]

I hope Arteta is watching these and have a sit down with some of these players and let them help him with how to reshape the club again...this kind of honesty could be uselful if he wants to close these gaps that were never filled

[@davidhuggan6315]

FA Cup legend. 7 wins in 8 finals.

[@RedArmyGooner]

I still don’t get it. Arsenal were the defending champions when he illegally met with Mourinho in February 2005. Did he really see that Arsenal were going to crumble as far back as that? Obviously made the right choice, as much as it pains me to say. Glad to see fans starting to see that - same with Robin Van Persie.

[@namegoeshere6638]

It's pretty obvious That as soon as Henry and viera got older / leave they would turn to shit. Not a mastermind decision. Cole left at the right time exactly to a club who would be much much stronger due to their financial clout and the fact they had a real core of top. Players

[@aaronaaron5861]

@@namegoeshere6638 yea finally someone with reasonable argument. Henry and viera were declining meanwhile at the same time chelsea was becoming a top club in england and europe. He made the right decision at the right time, he became one of the core players with cech, terry, lampard, and drogba at chelsea. And they are still the best generation of chelsea. Today's chelsea is a joke

[@francisdubem5084]

Aaron Aaron Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira were not declining they were elite players. Henry was the best in the world from 01/02 - 05/06.

[@waydejames8483]

My Mum didn't want Ashley to sign for us at Chelsea - not at all. But over the seasons she grew to absolutely love him and is glad he (along with other club legends) is back at the club. I can't think of better left back that this country's produced. KTBFFH!

[@ArmyofLove]

Ashley Cole has really changed into a lovely guy

[@JB-bk6yp]

Best LB for both clubs and England. He’s. Gooner and a blue. Hurt so much when he left but he was t looked after.

[@kevin084life]

I'm an Arsenal fan but I have to say he's right, looking back at it now. The core of Arsenal were falling apart in the mid-2000's so it was only a matter of time.

[@thinkcricket8510]

No doubt he won trophies at Chelsea but his claim about leaving just to win trophies is a total nonsense though.

[@richardmitchell8482]

.. so you know his inner thoughts do you? - Interesting that during the time he was at CFC, the Gunners won bugger all! So maybe it was about the titles! Coming up for 20 years since the Arsenal won one!

[@legendarychelsea4768]

Forever our greatest LB 💙💙💙💙

[@Master-ys2nb]

Danny rose is better coys!!!

[@andrew2450]

@@Master-ys2nb 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@MrTokyo-wc6xr]

Love you Ashley

[@jaylarry2657]

One of the best defenders of all time!

[@childofchief2290]

He done a Raheem Sterling when Raheem was still playing with Lego’s

[@morizwan123]

Anyone who thinks he left for trophies over money is either deluded or haven't studied the facts of what happened during this transfer saga.....

[@RandomVideosFirst]

I remember when Cashley Cole went to Chelsea for 5k more a week,Arsenal offered him 55k sounds crazy but I dont blame him he had a lot of success with Chelsea.

[@rmanb23]

That ent moving for money than is it

[@tickysiasiluka68]

Yes for 5k more but also he could see the writing on the wall that arsenal were not going to be challenging for major trophies.

[@antipeter8013]

@@tickysiasiluka68 Exactly. Since he joined Chelsea, Chelsea won 3 Premier league titles, Champions League and 2 Europa Leagues. Arsenal? Absolutely nothing but FA Cup. Leaving Arsenal was the best decision ever made by Ashley

[@londonsred2380]

AntiPeter lmao he won 1 PL with chel$hit don’t lie to make ur self feel better

[@tickysiasiluka68]

@@londonsred2380 You are right about 1 prem title.But he won the big ones,the champions league and europe trophies.Also about 4 fa cups.Not bad at all.

[@dbigdog79]

Ashley cole has to be one of the most underrated left backs ever!

[@darrengrimmer8541]

You could say he was one of the first to make a move in a very public way. It was done for all to see.. he wanted more money and told it how it was.. For me the way he could have been a bit more respectful with the things he said.. he was offered a sum of money by Arsenal but though they were taking the mikey out of him.. we all got to hear the figures quoted and I think a lot of people working normal jobs were offended. The thing is now in football what he did is par for the course and people are no longer surprised.

[@Ssvj1114]

What a player

[@markchandler5095]

He was right, the beginning of the end for Arsenal. They never did replace any of their great players. Hell it's 2020 and Arsenal still haven't replaced Patrick. Think about that.

[@Neo_Rain146]

Best decision the lad ever made for his career. Arsenal still buying mediocre players till this day

[@kelvinessel2604]

Neo Rain Ashley Cole leaving Arsenal was not the problem for me. For a player who claimed that he laughed about Arsenal struggles ever since he left I can see why many would hate him. Well at least he apologised. His off the field fiascos also added to the hate.

[@ryanthomas7951]

@@kelvinessel2604 given the abuse he got when he left, I don't blame him. Plus I don't think his off field issues mattered that much to football fans. So many players have done the same or worse and no one really cares. Giggs slept with his brother's wife, it hasn't really tarnished his image. I'm an arsenal fan and although it hurt when he left, looking back he made the right decision

[@user-gx9fz2cx4l]

Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette, Auba, Torriera, Leno..mediocre players🤔?

[@ryanthomas7951]

Dozman you only named 6 players out of like 100+ we’ve signed since then. And even then, Sanchez, Ozil and Auba are the only ones you mentioned that have actually had a significant impact on the team. Ozil has been poor for the last 2 years. Laca is inconsistent. Leno is ok. Torreira was great when he came until Emery started playing him out of position. But he’s not Kante level. We don’t sign top players man. Accept it

[@d.s5508]

ryan thomas Leno is probably the 3rd best keeper in this league. He’s probably our 2nd best player behind Auba.

[@petershortland478]

Arsenal's team was falling apart they were struggling to replace the team they loved Cole saw that but you can't deny he still was a fantastic player. I met him once he was nice obviously couldn't speak to him for long as he was driving away.

[@fin3642]

Part of 2 of the greatest teams in premier league history.

[@gammergq9741]

I think Ashley Cole is one the most misunderstood arsenal legends of all time, he was world class for us, left because he felt like he was getting taken for granted and there are alot worser cases that don't get half the flack as he did I hope one day he is welcome back to the Emirates and the fans applaud him onto the ground.

[@TabsT-vy5jy]

He is absolutely right. I never understood people calling him cashley Cole. So many people left arsenal coz they sold their best players. How do you completely firesale the whole undefeatables team. That's why arsenal will never be challenging ever again.

[@moneymitch5734]

Other than backing terry for what he did, he was a world class player, 🤝

[@mashwork6615]

Vivid memories of Ashley Cole being completely destroyed by fans most places he went and still put on world class performances. Elite mentality.

[@cheryldavison9759]

No matter what anyone thinks about him as a person you cannot fault him as a player,best left back in the modern era by a mile.

[@MDPofficial69]

My favourite LB ever

[@francisdubem5084]

Ashley Cole did not meet Chelsea officials, he went to see an agent regarding a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid. Mourinho and a chelsea official happened to be at the venue by coincidence. Regarding his contract, arsenal dealt with it poorly. They initially agreed on 60k but they lowered it to 55k. He felt disrespected by the way Arsenal handled his contract and the allegations saying he met Chelsea officials behind Arsenals back when this indeed wasn’t true. Arsenal and arsenal fans got it wrong. Even till this day we complain about the lack of ambition and the disappearance our winning culture something that caused Ashley Cole to leave the club.

[@Taporeee]

Severely underrated player.

[@GLA-ev2jv]

He left to be even more better was already good but became a legend

[@Aaronddsn]

The guy has given 99 excuses...I believe the one where he said he left for the money...

[@Smog202]

You’ve got to give Ashley credit for the fact he never give a shite what people said about him. 1st class career 👍

[@testcch6629]

people say it was all about money and i totally agree! The club were unwilling to spend money to keep their best players and to invest in top class players. That's why they all left after Viera. As an Arsenal fan i have always backed Ashley Cole because if the club had the ambition to keep him they would have kept him and the subsequent sale year on year of all our best players proves this plain and simple!

[@nathanj8849]

No one came close to Ashley Cole in his prime. I remember him at Arsenal getting the better of C.Ronaldo and other top wingers. What a player. Attacking alongside Pires and Henry, made it look effortless. Best ever left back from Europe hands down

[@jonbloom1870]

Can parallels be drawn between his treatment and what Sterling got until he called the press out for being racist? World class footballer, Englands best footballer in that generation

[@madmax6570]

Was a great Arsenal player. Certainly deserved a pay rise. The wage structure at the club was prehistoric and the club "paid the price" with mediocre left backs for years. No english Arsenal player in his prime should ever go to a London rival that's a Tottenham trait...because Arsenal has got a Sol ! 🥇🏆🏆

[@abdullah087]

Chelsea with all the oil money back then kinda plays a big role though. They were the only ones doing it, Roman pioneered oil money in football, and no FFP to regulate it.

[@madmax6570]

@@abdullah087 he didnt make it with oil like the arabs

[@johnmiller6976]

He left because of money. Best LB in Prem History tho...

[@dj2x21]

AINT SEEN AN ENGLISH LEFT BACK AS GOOD AS ASHLEY SINCE !

[@rickybeans8504]

England's best player of his time. Most consistent performer of golden generation

[@thehitman6963]

Looking back now i don’t blame him. As a football star you want to shoot for the stars and what’s best for yourself. To be fair Arsenal was declining and Chelsea was on the rise. However the fans have been your loyal supporters and it broke their hearts. So handling it a bit more delicate and not so ruthless 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@russell2890]

Cold hard cash

[@abdiasisomar3751]

Best ever 💙💙🤩

[@tornhook87]

The same thing he said when his wife caught him cheating... he saw the holes

[@magnakid]

It’s true, arsenal prematurely sold players without having adequate replacements. We especially sold them before they could pass that culture down, and when they wanted to come back, wenger was against it. This was the biggest downfall of arsenal.

[@eddy562]

Doesn’t even hurt as much because he left for Chelsea, it’s because he was so fucking good, every single game

[@fuckooo]

Cashley Cole

[@martynjago9030]

And then there's me who thought it had to do with money 😆

[@peggberto8832]

Best left back in the world for a number of years. Was gutted when he left Arsenal

[@stickykitty]

I wonder what the “real reason” will be next year 🙄