Chelsea host Arsenal in a Premier League clash that might well have title repercussions later in the season, and a familiar question has resurfaced.
To many, Ashley Cole is the face of this storied London rivalry.
Cole, one of the best left-backs ever, left Arsenal for Chelsea at the peak of his powers in 2006.
He was part of that famous Arsenal side that went unbeaten for an entire campaign, and moved to a Chelsea side fresh off back-to-back Premier League titles under Jose Mourinho.
So he’s the ideal person to compare the two historically great teams.
Chelsea FC Victory Parade
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Ashley Cole explains why Chelsea were better than Arsenal’s Invincibles
Cole made 228 appearances for the Gunners and 338 for the Blues. He faced Chelsea when Mourinho first came into the league.
Arsene Wenger never managed to win against The Special One while he was at Stamford Bridge, making the answer to this question quite obvious if you’re not biased.
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And Cole lays it out simply on the latest episode of Stick To Football, saying: “Look, I loved playing in both teams. But what I will say is we couldn’t beat that Chelsea team. When Jose came to the Premier League, we could just not beat them. We couldn’t break them down.
“I think they won the the league two years in a row. Whether that’s the tactical element, whether that’s you know, they setup better than what we did. The Jose effect. But we couldn’t beat them.”
It’s hard to make a counterargument. The 15-goal defensive record hasn’t been neared before or since. That Arsenal team was outstanding, no doubt, but they weren’t dominant in the way the Blues were.
Cole one of many to play for Chelsea and Arsenal
For two bitter rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea have done a fair bit of business together. In total, 20 players have battled on both sides, including some Premier League greats.
Some of the names include Cole, Petr Cech, Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Olivier Giroud.
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Enzo Maresca and Mikel Arteta embrace before Arsenal FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
More recently, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke have gone to the Emirates. Chelsea fans got into it with Madueke after a recent post making his allegiances clear.
This fixture is never short of drama. Cole will tell you as much.