Despite making 228 appearances and lifting two Premier League titles with Arsenal, it seems fair to say that Ashley Cole isn’t remembered as a club legend in north London.
Cole was on that trajectory at Arsenal, that was until he left for London rivals Chelsea in 2006.
The England left-back then went on to play for Chelsea 337 times, surpassing his record in N5.
Of course, Cole’s exit from Arsenal was an extremely messy one, and Arsenal fans haven’t shown too much forgiveness even today.
Why did Ashley Cole leave Arsenal for Chelsea?
That being said, when speaking on ‘That Peter Crouch Podcast’, Martin Keown actually claimed that Cole was ‘hung out to dry’ by Arsenal, partly in reference to his contract situation.
Speaking to Peter Crouch, Keown eventually sent an appeal to Arsenal fans to accept Cole back at the club again, reminding them of all of the good times.
Crouch asked: “Did you have some kind of, did you resonate with the experience Ashley Cole went through? Just because you were very similar, right?
“And did you think there was a culture of maybe not looking after the players that come through the youth team, whereas someone would be on ‘x’ amount, whereas Ashley and yourself – was there similarities there?”
Keown replied: “Yeah, a huge difference in amounts, I was £50 and his was £50,000. But I was unhappy about all of that, I thought they hung him out to drop a little bit.
“I think people have apologised since, I hope that Ash can find some way to feel still loved by the fans and by the club, because we loved him within the group – best left-back.
“And let me tell you, I’ve played with Kenny [Sansom] – the only other one that comes near. Nigel Winterburn was a part of that unity, but that strength was that unit.
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“Ash was a magnificent player, willing to learn, now it’s great to see him back in the game, giving something back again.
“But I think we should make him feel welcome at Arsenal, I know he went to Chelsea and it was difficult, but that’s about him as well – you’ve got to forgive a little bit, haven’t you?
“I think he feels that the fans don’t love him enough but it’s a two way thing, so one day hopefully he’ll be accepted back in again – he’s an Invincible.”
Ashley Cole says money wasn’t the only reason he left Arsenal
Speaking to Optus Sport earlier this year, Cole actually told a different side of his reasoning to leave Arsenal.
The defender mentioned that he was unhappy with Arsenal’s contract offer but also said he was worried about the club’s ability to compete on the pitch as well.
“[You need] hungry players that want to achieve and want to go to the next level..
“I know it sounds easy to go, ‘I bet every player wants to win’ but the bond within the group we had was, ‘If you’re not doing your job, you’re going to get a rollicking from the main players’.
“It was led more so from the players inside the dressing room. We all had that feeling of hunger to win.
“Quality can only take you that far, you need something else. We had that at Arsenal and I think we probably lost that a little bit, that’s my feeling.
“That was a reason why I left, whether people believe it or not, I sensed it, I felt it.”
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