Arsenal and Chelsea Are in Cole Talks

Ashley Cole is very close on signing a deal with the Premiership winners, Chelsea. Even if the move was only a rumor last week, the two clubs agreed to hold talks concerning the Englishman's move to Stanford Bridge. And it will certainly not be a very smooth negotiation for the two clubs, since Arsenal and Chelsea have been at war over the same player more than a year ago.

Jose Mourinho then decided to call the player and make him a proposition for leaving Arsenal. The gunner's found out the whole thing and pressed charges at the FA concerning the wrongdoing. Both Jose Mourinho and Ashley Cole were severely fined, and the defender never got the chance to move to Chelsea. From that point on, Cole had a pretty rough relationship with his coach, Arsene Wenger, and decided to leave the team as soon as possible.

Well, it seems that "soon" took about one year. Arsenal are now prepared to negotiate Cole's leaving the club, since the Englishman refused to sign a new deal with the gunners. More, Arsene Wenger himself admitted that it would be a long shot to say that Cole will stay with the team for the 2006/07 season. Today, Arsenal have confirmed - through the voice of chairman David Dein - that they will be holding talks with their London rivals over Cole's situation.

"As we speak now he is an Arsenal player and until you hear otherwise he is an Arsenal player. We have had a couple of very civil conversations with Chelsea and there is nothing else to say on that. He's our player. He started with us when he was 16 and if something else happens we will wait and see. If something happened and we decided to take an offer that's another story but at the moment he is under contract to us", said Dein.

If he will come to Chelsea, Jose Mourinho already promised the English defender a starting position in his squad. And Cole can be sure of that, since his contestant for the job, Asier Del Horno, already left for Valencia last week.