Joe Cole has named former Arsenal stars Patrick Vieira and Ashley Cole among the toughest players he came up against in his career.
Speaking on the All To Play For podcast, Cole admitted about facing Arsenal during his time at West Ham as a youngster admitted his difficulties facing the Gunners at that time.
Cole also revealed an amusing mix-up over a shirt-swap involving Vieira after one bruising encounter with the Frenchman.
“I remember playing against Patrick Vieira when he was at Arsenal,” he said. “It was like we were two different species. I used to bounce off him, it was embarrassing.
“You couldn’t get the ball off him. I was marking him at a corner once and he tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could have my shirt.
“I thought, I’ve made it here. I said to Michael Carrick, Patrick wants my shirt. I think he wants it up on his wall.
“Two days later I found out it wasn’t for him. It was for a chef at Arsenal who was a West Ham fan.”
Cole, who moved to Chelsea where he won three league titles, also mentioned his namesake Ashley as a tough opponent and was relieved when the latter also made the switch to west London.
“Ashley Cole was always so difficult to come up against,” he added. “Luckily, I was on the same side as him very often at Chelsea.”
During his time at Stamford Bridge, Cole and Chelsea often faced off against Barcelona in the Champions League and the former winger also name-checked Brazilian defender Dani Alves as another troublesome rival.
“On the right side, Dani Alvez was unbelievable when I played against him, said Cole. “He’d just fly past you and you’d think, this guy is not real.”
