Three-time champion Ashley Cole was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame on Monday.
The all-action leftback burst on the scene in the 2000-01 season for his boyhood club Arsenal, going on to make 385 league appearances in total, contributed to 147 clean sheets, scored 15 goals and made 31 assists across 15 seasons.
Starring for the Gunners and Chelsea, Cole won three titles - two with the Gunners, including being part of the record-breaking “Invincibles” Arsenal team who went unbeaten through the 2003/04 season.
The numbers of new #PLHallOfFame inductee, Ashley Cole 🤩
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 25, 2024
💪 @TheRealAC3 pic.twitter.com/NoSM72gkBC
The 43-year-old says: “I’m honoured to join the Premier League Hall of Fame.
“It’s humbling and fulfilling to be rewarded at the end of your career.
“I went through my career just trying to give my best and be good enough. You take it day by day and game by game. As a young kid, you never dream of any of this and you just do it for the love of the game of football.
“I played for some fantastic clubs with incredible fans. Winning trophies with my boyhood club Arsenal and with Chelsea are amazing memories that will always be with me.”
Thank you @premierleague and to everyone else who helped me along my footballing journey
— Ashley Cole (@TheRealAC3) March 25, 2024
An honour to be inducted alongside side so many legends of the premier league era
It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of so many people so I owe this to them as well ❤️… https://t.co/X4nxwdVHry
Two more inductees will be announced on Monday 22 April.
The shortlist includes Sol Campbell, Les Ferdinand, David Silva, Michael Carrick, Robbie Fowler, John Terry, Andrew Cole, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure, Jermain Defoe, Gary Neville, Edwin van der Sar, Cesc Fabregas, Michael Owen, Nemanja Vidic.