Ashley Cole insists he had to leave Arsenal for Chelsea in 2006.

The Gunners had enjoyed a glittering start to the century, winning the FA Cup three times and the Premier League twice - including the 'Invincibles' season of 2003/04.

But as Cole emerged as one of the best left-backs in Europe, many key Arsenal players were coming to the end of their careers or were sold to rival clubs.

Speaking about his move from Arsenal to Chelsea on Match Of Their Day, Cole said: "The transition in terms of being in a different group environment and players was easy because at the time when I first started at Arsenal, I always keep mentioning them but that was the core, the Seamans, the Keowns, the Vieiras, the Henrys, the Adams.

"And obviously when they started to leave, I just felt - this is me personally - I felt there were holes in the culture of what it was before, the demands on training.

"I just felt it was falling apart a bit or there was gaps missing that wasn't filled.

"So that transition in terms of, you know, finding myself in a different culture and the willingness and want to win - I went to Chelsea and I had that."