He will bring togetherness' - Ashley Cole backs Ancelotti to succeed at Arsenal

Ashley Cole believes his former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti could be the man to turn Arsenal around, with the Italian the bookies' favourite to succeed Unai Emery.

Cole, who played under Ancelotti for two years at Stamford Bridge and won the Premier League and FA Cup Double under him, has backed the 60-year-old to be the man to turn Arsenal around.

He said: 'I think he would bring togetherness. I've spoken about him a lot in terms of not just how good he was on the pitch but in terms of being a friend and someone that isn't always serious. You have to go out on the training pitch and have a laugh.

'You have to enjoy what you're doing and he brought that in training sessions with his coaching staff but then when we went to games he would give you that love and a push and the understanding of what it means to win games.

'He's won so much in his career as a player and a coach so he's someone that when he talks everybody listens. I think it would be great if he went to Arsenal.'

Ancelotti is one of the most decorated managers in football. He has won league titles as a manager in Italy, England, France and Germany, as well as the Champions League three times.

Asked if Ancelotti could get a better job elsewhere, Cole insisted the lure of Arsenal should be good enough to attract him.

'I don't think Arsenal is a step down for anyone to be honest,' Cole added. 'It's still a big club. Yes they've not won a lot in past seasons but I think their starting XI is definitely good enough.

'Maybe the defence, for me, needs to defend more but they've definitely got the quality and attacking threat.

'If they just address the defensive issues and have a little bit more of a structure and philosophy in how to play with the ball and without it then I definitely think Carlo would do a great job there.'