Ashley Cole leaves Chelsea: The Blues officially bid defender farewell with cheeky dig at his former club Arsenal

Club statement could not resist mocking the Gunners

Ashley Cole salutes the fans on his last game for Chelsea

(GETTY IMAGES)

Ashley Cole has now officially left Chelsea after eight years at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues could not resist taking a cheeky dig at his former team Arsenal in their goodbye message to the left-back.

The 33-year-old defender is now a free agent, with talk that his next move will be to the MLS in America.

Chelsea used their goodbye message to Cole to remind Arsenal of all the trophies and success he has enjoyed since moving from their "big London rivals", and that they had not won any in that time until the FA Cup this year, "a week after Cole played his final Chelsea game".

"Chelsea Football Club today says goodbye to Ashley Cole, a player who contributed enormously to the highly successfully period in our history in which we were crowned champions of Europe and won the League and Cup double for the first time," the gushing statement read.

"His remarkably consistent high level of performance was always appreciated by the Chelsea support, who welcomed him to Stamford Bridge even though he joined from big London rivals Arsenal, with William Gallas moving the other way as part of a transfer-deadline-day deal in August 2006.

"Cole has had no reason to regret his switch across the capital, collecting winners' medals for the Champions League, the Premier League, the Europa League, the League Cup, the Community Shield and the FA Cup four times, taking him to his all-time record seven wins in that competition's long history," the statemate read, before adding:

"Arsenal without Cole did not lift silverware until this year's FA Cup final a week after he played his final Chelsea game."