Arsenal’s Theo Walcott names ex-Chelsea man as toughest opponent

Theo Walcott has revealed that Ashley Cole is the toughest opponent he has ever faced in an Arsenal shirt.

Cole, an ex-Arsenal left-back, moved to the Gunners’ fierce local rivals Chelsea in the summer of 2006 and came up against Walcott a number of times.

Walcott was asked to pick the toughest player he has ever faced, and the Arsenal forward selected the left-back as his most testing opponent during a Q&A session on Instagram on Friday afternoon.

Walcott posted the video above on his personal Instagram account on Friday, in which he said: “My toughest opponent I’ve played against would be this man behind me, Ashley Cole.

“The fact of his pace going forward, and defensively he was very strong.”

Walcott and his Arsenal team-mates are gearing up for their Premier League trip to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

MORE: The latest Arsenal news and views

MORE: The latest Arsenal player tweets

The north London side head into the game on the back of their thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, as they were forced to settle for a point following Joe Allen’s stoppage-time equaliser on Merseyside.