play; Winterburn concurrently offered pointers to improve his positioning. He modelled his game on Brazilian Roberto Carlos: "He's got natural talent, but I think if you train hard enough you can be nearly as good as that." Liam Brady described Cole as a player with "great character and determination" and his former teammate Sylvinho noted that one of Cole's qualities was being competent: "Ashley does not need people saying, 'Do this' or 'Go there'. He knows, he knows." The rapid progress made by Cole in his debut season for Arsenal "surprised" Wenger and prompted him to make the defender his first pick. Sylvinho, the player displaced, commented that Wenger's belief in Cole helped him to develop as a player: "He spoke to [Cole] and said: 'After Silvinho you can play left-back. You are one of the best left-backs at the club and one day will be one of the best in the world.'" Cole's link-up play with winger Robert Pires and main striker Thierry Henry in a 4–4–2 formation effectively made him "a wing-back or winger playing in a back four" because Arsenal's game emphasised attacking football. Under José Mourinho at Chelsea, Cole's attacking threat was restrained, meaning it allowed the player to focus more on defending and marking. This was a "side of his game" Cole improved the most according to Winterburn, given he was criticised in the past for being caught out of position. The arrival of Luiz Felipe Scolari however ensured Cole made forward runs in the opposition's half; Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill believed the liberation of Cole was a sign that he was "back playing to his very best". Cole is renowned for making timed goal-line clearances and "cutting out danger". In a league match against Tottenham Hotspur in December 2002, he made two notable clearances, which demonstrated to him that his defensive game had improved. He also made two goal line clearances in Chelsea's 2011–12 Champions League winning campaign. The first was against Napoli, in a 3–1 round-of-16 first leg defeat, and the second in Chelsea's semi-final first leg 1–0 win against Barcelona. Both were vital as Chelsea went on to win the ties with a margin of one goal on aggregate, eventually lifting the Champions League. Cole is said to have a "mean streak", and has been labelled a "dirty player", something which he himself and his former coaches have strongly denied. Personal