Ashley Cole from Arsenal – The greatest Chelsea deadline day signing

Cast your minds back seven summers to 2006 and you will remember that we eventually signed Cole on deadline day for a fee of £5m plus William Gallas, who had gone to great lengths himself to ensure he left Chelsea.

Although done on deadline day, his transfer was not a panic buy; in fact it was quite the saga.

Ashley Cole has been at Chelsea so long now that it is easy to forget the long and bitter chase we had to endure that included tapping up accusations and FA charges.

The deal left a sour taste in the mouth of our North London rivals who claimed that Cole left for the money, coining the term “Cashley” and waving fake notes at him when he returned to the Emirates.

Ashley Cole is the player in English football that opposition fans love to hate. Never has a player been so universally singled out for abuse when playing in the Premier League than Ashley Cole.

He seems to take it in his stride and even use it as fuel for superb performances that include keeping Cristiano Ronaldo in his pocket on numerous occasions.

Although he may appear arrogant at times, his recent relationship with the fans and his consistent performances have made him a fan favourite.

Something helped by the fact that since joining us he has won 8 major trophies whilst in the same period Arsenal have yet to lift anything more significant than the Emirates trophy.

Ashley Cole instantly solidified himself in the Chelsea starting XI developing his game to the point where he became the undisputed “best left back in the world” for long periods of his time at the club.

He has won the FA Cup four times, the Premier League, the Champions League and the Europa League whilst at the club. Personal honours include being named the club’s players player of the year twice and inclusion in numerous UEFA and PFA teams of the year.

He may get booed wherever he goes but he is a quality player and given his achievements the best deadline day signing the club have made.