Ashley Cole was called greedy traitor for leaving Arsenal ‘but he was a great role model’

At one point, Justin Hoyte expressed his sadness to Daily Star Sport about Ashley Cole’s contentious move from Arsenal to Chelsea, calling it “upsetting.”

Ashley Cole left Arsenal in 2006, and went on to become a Chelsea legend (Image: GETTY)

Ashley Cole’s decision to leave Arsenal for Chelsea in the summer of 2006 shocked everyone in north London.

The choice of the left-back to join competitors Cole’s reputation with the Gunners was destroyed by Chelsea, who called him a “traitor” only two years after he was a member of Arsenal’s team that won the Premier League title. Cole managed to sour relations with Arsenal in his book by criticizing the board and a number of players for the unsuccessful contract negotiations that resulted in his departure to join Chelsea.

The decision left former Arsenal defender Justin Hoyte, who grew up in the Gunners’ system, “upset.” Cole was seen as “a great role model” by Hoyte, who celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this week.

“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,” Hoyte stated in an interview with Daily Star Sport in 2022. I used to observe him in training since I was a right-back and he was a left-back.

“When I was trying to join the team, he helped me and provided me a lot of guidance. In my debut game against Norwich, I let up a penalty. “You’re going to make mistakes, it’s all part and parcel of being a football player, and the only way you’re going to learn is by making mistakes and getting over them,” he told me, even though we still won.

After playing in the first team 68 times, Hoyte left Arsenal in 2008. Given their personal history, the former Arsenal right-back said he can see why Cole and most Arsenal supporters don’t like each other. Hoyte also expressed how upset that made him.

“Everyone has the right to their own opinion,” he stated. No supporter will be pleased that you left if you go to another rival London club. Nobody wants to watch a player they grew up watching play for Chelsea.

As a supporter of Arsenal and someone who guided me through the academy, I must admit that I was disappointed to see him go. He would have undoubtedly been a legend at the club, but he clearly had other goals in mind, and he succeeded.

“I was thinking, ‘He’s not really like this, he’s not like that,’ when I was listening to all of this [Cole backlash,] but ultimately, this is football.” When you know the player, you can see how they truly are as a person, even though what fans see in the media is how they see them.

Hoyte added that people frequently overlook the fact that Cole’s transfer opened the door for another future first team player to rise through the levels.

“But you know, we had Ashley Cole,” he said. He was excellent, indeed. Gael Clichy took over and performed admirably for the team when he moved on. In that regard, Ashley needed to move on so that Clichy could enter.