Pain in the Arsenal
Fansided

Ranking the 5 best Arsenal full-backs of all-time

By Trent Nelson

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 5: Ashley Cole of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the third goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at the Villa Park, on January 5, 2005 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 5: Ashley Cole of Arsenal celebrates after scoring the third goal during the Barclays Premiership match between Aston Villa and Arsenal at the Villa Park, on January 5, 2005 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /
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1. Ashley Cole

9 Sep 2000: Ashley Cole of Arsenal celebrates scoring the equalizer during the Carling Premiership game between Bradford City and Arsenal at Valley Parade, Bradford. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT
9 Sep 2000: Ashley Cole of Arsenal celebrates scoring the equalizer during the Carling Premiership game between Bradford City and Arsenal at Valley Parade, Bradford. Mandatory Credit: Laurence Griffiths/ALLSPORT /

Football is a business as much as a sport, and there are few players whose legacies and playing careers mirror this truth more than our number one full-back in Arsenal’s history. Ashley Cole deserves this spot by many different metrics, as anyone who watched the Gunners during his years with them would likely be the first to articulate.

From 1998 until the summer of 2006, Cole bossed the left side of the pitch wherever Arsenal found themselves playing. He was a part of some of their best teams, including that famous and brilliant Invincibles side in 2003/2004. His nine career Arsenal goals and 23 assists were often wonderfully timed in one way or another, and yet his sale to Chelsea at the end of his tenure would usually be difficult to reconcile were it not for his unbelievable career with the club (re: Cesc Fabregas as another example of this).

His winning mentality, toughness, and ability to do all of which were asked of him means that, even with the way the player departed from Arsenal, a deep-lying respect for Cole’s excellence remains.

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