Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English professional
footballer who is currently with
Los Angeles Galaxy in
Major League Soccer and plays as a
left back. Cole is considered by many critics and fellow professional players as one of the best defenders of his generation, and by some, for the better part of his career, as the best left back in the world. Born in
Stepney, London, Cole began his youth career at
Arsenal and made his full debut for the club in November 1999, going on to make a further 228 appearances, scoring ten goals. With Arsenal he won two
Premier League titles, three
FA Cups, and was an integral member of "
The Invincibles" team of the 2003–04 season, who went the entire league season undefeated. Cole also made an appearance in Arsenal's first
UEFA Champions League final in
2006; the club lost 2–1 to
Barcelona.