“No one wants to see a player they’ve seen grow up go to Chelsea” – Ex-Arsenal defender opens up on being ‘upset’ with Ashley Cole after controversial transfer

Ashley Cole controversially left Arsenal for Chelsea in a transfer that sent shockwaves across the Premier League back in the summer of 2006. Recalling the incident, former Gunners defender Justin Hoyte has revealed that he was upset by the Englishman's decision to join a direct rival.

Hoyte and Cole were teammates at Arsenal prior to the latter's contentious move to Chelsea. During an interview with Daily Star, the former Trinidad and Tobago defender opened up on his relationship with the Englishman. Hoyte said:

“Ashley Cole was a great role model, a great example for me to follow in the way he conducted himself off the field and the way he trained. He was a left-back and I was a right-back so I used to watch him in training. He gave me plenty of advice and helped me when I was trying to get into the team."

"I gave away a penalty in my first game against Norwich. We still won but he told me, ‘You're going to make mistakes, it’s all part and parcel of being a footballer and the only way you're going to learn is by making mistakes and getting over them.'"

Ashley Cole's decision to join Chelsea infuriated many Arsenal fans who still consider him a traitor to this day. Justin Hoyte has admitted that he was also not happy with the Englishman's departure. He continued:

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. If you leave and go to another rival London club, no fan is going to be happy that you left. No one wants to see a player they’ve seen grow up go to Chelsea."

“So as an Arsenal fan and being someone who helped me through the academy, yeah I was upset to see him leave. He would have been a legend at the club 100% but he obviously wanted to achieve something else and he was able to do that."

Commenting on the backlash Ashley Cole faced, his former teammate added:

“When I was listening to all this [Cole backlash], I was thinking, 'He’s not really like this, he’s not like that.' But at the end of the day, this is football. Whatever fans see in the media is how they perceive someone, but when you know the player, you understand how they actually are as a person."

Highlighting Ashley Cole's numbers for Chelsea and Arsenal

Ashley Cole in action for the Blues versus Shakhtar Donetsk back in 2012.

The Englishman was a prominent member of Arsene Wenger's historic Invincible squad that won the Premier League title with an amazing unbeaten record back in 2003-04. During his time at the Emirates Stadium, the legendary left-back made 228 appearances for the Gunners across all competitions, recording nine goals and 28 assists.

Cole would go on to contribute even more for the Blues, bagging seven goals and 38 assists in 337 matches across all fronts. He eventually left Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2014. Cole represented AS Roma and L.A. Galaxy before retiring at Derby County in August 2019.