Ashley Cole has been Chelsea and England's first choice left back since his arrival at Stamford Bridge in August 2006, signing as part of an exchange deal involving William Gallas.

A product of the Arsenal Academy, Ashley broke into the Gunners' first-team squad in 2000 and quickly earned a reputation for his high-energy attacking displays.

A former left winger, a loan spell at Crystal Palace helped develop his defensive game and his progress was such that he made his international debut against Albania in 2001. Having won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups at Highbury, he joined Chelsea, where he was quick to make a troublesome left-back position his own.

Since arriving at Stamford Bridge he has added three further FA Cup winners' medals to his collection, making him the most decorated player in the competition's history. Ashley suffered a fractured ankle at the beginning of February and this led to a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but he returned to celebrate league title success at the end of the 2009-10 season.

He completed his first ever-present league campaign in 2010-11. Ashley currently has over 80 caps for England, and is his country's most capped full back ever.

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