‘Hurt your eyes’ – I played for Arsenal and Chelsea and hated going to Anfield but I did get last laugh

Premier League legend Ashley Cole revealed he hated playing at Anfield despite his multiple wins there.  

His earliest experiences at the famous ground were while he played for Arsenal, turning from a prospect to a respected world-class defender.

Cole is one of several players that loathed playing at Anfield, often crowned as England’s most domineering and threatening stadium.

On the Football’s Greatest podcast, Cole sat alongside Teddy Sheringham and Joe Cole to reminisce about their trips to Merseyside.

“I used to hate going there,” said the full-back. “Teddy would have got, I assume more abuse than me playing there but I hated playing there.

“I always felt like you were playing against 12 men, not because of the crowd, this is just the red inside. 

“It used to hurt your eyes and then obviously with the crowd and the atmosphere they created was unbelievable."

He continued: “I’ve had a mixed bag of results there. Won a few, lost a few. My famous win there would’ve been Arsenal 2-1.

“It gave us a really strong foothold to go on and win the league.”

That was the scoreline in both the 2001/02 and 2003/04 league winning seasons.

Cole sited Arsene Wenger’s 2-1 winner in October 2003, thanks to a Robert Pires winner which set the precedent for their 'Invincible' campaign.

“As an atmosphere and stadium it’s just unreal,” he said.

It is an aura Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is desperate to maintain as they close in on a second Premier League title.

After a 2-0 win against Manchester City, he said: “I think it only helps us and them [the supporters] as well to make Anfield horrible for the opponent.”

Sheringham in contrast ‘loved’ playing at Anfield during a number of incredible contests during his time at Man United.

But his favourite memories came at two different clubs.

“I had great days there with Millwall,” he remembered. “We drew 1-1 against a great team with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson, Kenny Dalglish and [Ian Rush].

“I played there with Tottenham and beat them in the quarter-final of the [FA] Cup. I scored a great goal past David James. I loved beating Jaymo. If he sees this he’d be itching, wanting to get a hold of me and grab my throat.    

“And then I set [Jurgen] Klinsmann up to win 2-1.”

He netted the winner with two minutes remaining slotting the ball into the bottom corner thanks to a beautiful flick by the Englishman.

“You know the beauty of that day? The Liverpool fans clapped us off. We were that good.”