Ashley concentrates on verve amid the vitriol

Cole ready for reminders of his 'treachery'

Not quite the return of the provocative son. That comes in May, when Chelsea visit the Emirates Stadium. But though the north London constabulary will endeavour to deter excessive displeasure from visiting supporters - like the brandishing of fake £20 notes bearing his image and inflatable mobile phones - 3,100 members of the Arsenal faithful will remind Ashley Cole of his treachery this afternoon.

Sadly, it's the way of things, even among normally placid Gunners followers who prefer to wallow in their team's reputation as the easiest footballing team on the eye. Not today. As his former team-mate, Arsenal's goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann, contends: "He must be prepared for some negative emotion."

It has been a year in which he has been transformed from one of the world's finest left-backs into an object of ridicule. The "tapping-up" affair with Chelsea, which brought FA charges against Cole, his agent and Jose Mourinho; the newspaper slur which has provoked the possible waving of mobile phones today; the ostentatious wedding; the autobiography My Defence, containing some risible, self-serving remarks regarding his "betrayal" by Arsenal and why he moved to Chelsea.

He is unlikely to have been the first footballer to quibble over a £5,000-a-week pay rise. But few would have aired that fact in a book in which he stated, in a reference to a claim that he had been led to believe a new Arsenal contract would offer him £60,000 a week: "When I heard £55,000 I nearly swerved off the road." The upshot was the departure from north to west London for a rather tidier sum, and he and his wife just make it on to FourFourTwo magazine's Football Rich List 2007, albeit at equal 96th.

The police precautions, supported by both clubs, of a poster and leaflet campaign warning that homophobic chants will not be tolerated will appear bizarre to many observers considering this is a young man who recently married the Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy. Arsenal stated: "Anyone bringing in inflatable mobile phones or fake pound notes will be ejected from the ground." They may as well have added: "and anyone harbouring malevolent thoughts".

Cole is not the first north London player damned with the accusation of disloyalty. Sol Campbell received the predictably banal refrain of "Judas" when he made the even more controversial move from White Hart Lane to Highbury. Chelsea's England defender may be guilty of many sins, among them avarice; a kitsch fashion sense; naïvety; and a decided lack of sensitivity towards supporters of the club who nurtured him. But there is no evidence that he lacks stomach when confronted by vitriolic assault.

One of his finest hours was when he quelled the menace of Cristiano Ron-aldo at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, making a vital contribution to Chelsea's 1-1 draw. Of course, he received the crowd's verbal wrath. At one stage, he mocked them with an audacious gesture, which said: "I've got him in my pocket". A professional player must accept such abuse as a back-handed compliment, as Cole will today when he makes his 16th appearance for Chelsea.

He was badly advised, opines the former Gunner Paul Merson, though he sympathises with Cole in one sense. He stresses the fact that the player, who soon turns 26, had spent a decade at the club where he began as a junior. "Players who come through the system often aren't as well treated as those they pay a lot of money for."

At least Cole's departure has offered an invitation for the young Frenchman Gaël Clichy to impress. "He is 100 per cent the answer [to the loss of Cole]," says the manager, Arsène Wenger. "What he is doing is quite amazing. This is a good challenge for him because he will be compared to his model. Gaël has the poten-tial to be as good as him."

Wenger adds, attempting to extract the sting from today's proceedings: "Ashley is playing very well now. I am not surprised. He is at the best age for a football player." No doubt, in the visitors' section, they will be echoing his sentiments.

Mind the gap: Mourinho V Wenger

12 December 2004 Arsenal 2 (Henry 2) Chelsea 2 (Terry, Gudjohnsen)

Arsenal lead 1-0 and then 2-1 thanks to Thierry Henry's controversial quick free-kick past Petr Cech, but are twice pegged back, Eidur Gudjohnsen scoring the final goal just after half-time. Chelsea lead the table and are five points ahead of Arsenal.

20 April 2005 Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0

Hoping to seal a first title in 50 years on home soil by beating Arsenal and Fulham, Chelsea are forced to wait after an anti-climactic evening. Victory at Bolton 10 days later ties it up. Arsenal's strong finish earns them the runners-up spot, 12 points behind, before their FA Cup final win.

21 August 2005 Chelsea 1 (Drogba) Arsenal 0

Didier Drogba, having scored both goals in the 2-1 Community Shield win over Arsenal, is one of £69.5m worth of Chelsea substitutes and comes on to score a fluke goal. It is one of nine straight wins to start the season while Arsenal lose three of their first eight games and drop to eighth place.

18 December 2005 Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2 (Robben, J Cole)

After verbals between the managers - Mourinho calling his opposite number a "voyeur" - Wenger fumes over a disallowed goal and a Michael Essien tackle but can do little to revive a title challenge as the gap between the clubs rises to 20 points. By the end of the season it is 24.

Steve Tongue