greed and arrogance from many Arsenal fans. Cole is still greeted with derision at most away grounds and his status as one of the Premier League's most unpopular players has been reinforced by media condemnations of his private life during his recent divorce from Cheryl Cole. But Ancelotti has repeatedly made it clear that he has no interest in policing players' activities away from the pitch and judges them solely on how well they perform their jobs, saying that, if others restricted themselves to the same criterion, they would agree that Cole is a man to be admired, not vilified. "It is a pleasure for every coach to work with this kind of player because you will never get problems with them," Ancelotti said. "He is highly motivated, a very good player and a very good professional. I think maybe he did not live so well [during his divorce proceedings] but he maintained good control of himself as a character. He never brought any problems inside the training ground. I think everyone who appreciates football should appreciate him because he is also a very fair player. He never shouts at referees or makes bad tackles on opponents. On the pitch he is an example." Ancelotti was not the Chelsea manager when Cole infamously abused the referee Mike Riley after being booked for a dangerous tackle on Alan Hutton in a 4-4 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in March 2008. Cole later apologised for his "lack of respect" that night and promised