Ashley Cole has opened up on his acrimonious transfer to Chelsea which led to the left-back becoming a target of abuse by Arsenal supporters.
Cole, 38, was an integral part of two Premier League title wins with his boyhood club, but left to join the Gunners’ London rivals in 2006 after a protracted saga.
Cole was dubbed ‘Cashley’ by embittered Arsenal fans, although he enjoyed a silverware-laden spell at Stamford Bridge, winning eight trophies – including the Champions League.
During his time with Chelsea Cole also established himself as one of the best defenders of his generation, and he left after eight years for Roma, and then LA Galaxy in MLS.
Cole is now back in England with Championship side Derby – managed by former Chelsea and England team-mate Frank Lampard – and, speaking as a guest on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, he reflected on his Arsenal departure.
He said: “I was a little bit hot-headed and didn’t realise what I was doing at the time as well but I don’t regret it. When I look back now, it was something maybe that was meant to happen.
“Of course it hurt me because I knew it wasn’t just my fault. I didn’t leave for no reason. I didn’t go to Arsene Wenger and say ‘I want to leave’. There was more to it.
“It happens in football now, I’ve seen it happen to a lot of other players. It’s life, I moved on, they moved on.
“I do feel sometimes a little bit sad because it was my club, I played there since I was nine. To have that ill-feeling from the fans, still, is hard sometimes.”
Cole was part of England’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ and was an ever-present in the World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2010 as well as the European Championships in 2004 and 2012.
England’s failure to win a tournament with an enviable amount of talent was widely lamented and Cole was unable to put his finger on why they flattered to deceive on the grandest stages.
He added: “I think we were always confident going into tournaments. We had strong players in every position but it just didn’t happen for us. It’s too hard to put a stamp on a reason why we didn’t.
“It’s something I’ll definitely look back on and wonder why we didn’t but I think a lot of ex-players and players that were in and around the squad, we couldn’t put our finger on it. Maybe other teams were better than us.”