Arsene Wenger, the former manager of Arsenal, recently revealed that his decision to let defender Ashley Cole leave the team and join Chelsea in 2006 was the biggest regret of his life. Wenger was in charge of Arsenal for 22 years, from 1996 to 2018, and during that time, he led the team to three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup trophies.
Wenger admitted that letting Cole go was a mistake and that he deeply regretted it. He acknowledged that Cole had a very successful career after leaving Arsenal and was the only player who moved on and fulfilled his potential. Wenger expressed his regret during an interview on the Seaman Says podcast.
He said, “I would say of the player who left Arsenal and had a very big career after Arsenal is Ashley Cole. He was the only one who moved on and fulfilled his career, and it was a regret of my life. Recently, we had a meeting, and I was glad he was there because he had a bad feeling, and I had a regret that he left the club at that time.”
Wenger also revealed that Arsenal had come close to signing two other great players during his time at the club: Cristiano Ronaldo and N’Golo Kante.
He said, “I missed many great players. We missed Ronaldo; he was close to signing for us. We also missed out on Kante. But missing out on players is a part of every football club.”
