By MARK IRWIN
ASHLEY COLE starred as Chelsea moved into the title mix — and admitted he never wanted to quit Stamford Bridge.
The full-back confirmed he had agreed a new £10million deal after Blues got their title train rolling with an emphatic win over London rivals Arsenal.
Cole, who has been negotiating with the Stamford Bridge board for months, insisted: “This was a big win for us. Great result… great fans… great club.”
England international Cole, 32, will put pen to paper this week on his 12-month extension to the contract which was due to expire at the end of the season.
Chelsea’s stop-gap boss Rafa Benitez said: “The contract was running out and now the club has an agreement with the player and we are all really, really pleased.”
There was plenty for Benitez to smile about as he enjoyed his first abuse-free afternoon at the Bridge when fans forgot to boo him.
On the day Chelsea confirmed that Cole had agreed to stay, owner Roman Abramovich turned up with his missus to check out the amount of stick being given to his interim manager.
But the Blues fans forgot their customary 16th-minute applause for former boss Roberto Di Matteo because they were distracted by Frank Lampard’s successful penalty conversion.
That made it 2-0 after Juan Mata’s opener. And although Theo Walcott halved the deficit, the Blues moved to 11 points behind leaders Manchester United.
Benitez said: “Today I am happy and really pleased because the players have put in a great effort and a great game.
“Even in the second half when Arsenal put us under pressure we had situations on the counter-attack where we could have scored.
“Arsenal are one of our biggest rivals in the Premier League and a top side. Winning against these teams is very important.”
Yet while Benitez had plenty to smile about, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was predictably unhappy with the manner of his team’s defeat.
The Gunners won an FA Cup replay with Swansea last Wednesday and have a league game at home to West Ham this Wednesday.
Wenger said: “We had a physical problem to get going today. When you play every three days it’s difficult to know what is physical and what is psychological.
“But for sure there is definitely a psychological element to it because we didn’t really go for it at the start again.
“It’s very damaging and difficult to swallow.”
