OK I admit it. I was one of the handful of idiots who shelled out for Cashley’s book. Worse, however, I compounded the error by writing an article for the Gooner defending the traitor, quoting sections of his book where he claimed he really loved Arsenal and left on principle and not just for the money. Yeah, right. Fell for it big time, didn’t I?

Having spotted The Sun’s front page leader at the tail end of last week - “Ashley is damaged goods. How can I trust him again?” - I decided to indulge myself and invest the outrageous sum of 20p. If half of what the paper said is true I feel truly sorry for Cheryl Tweedy. Her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola and Kimberley claim that, following the well-documented reports of Cashley’s affair, Cheryl has fled the marital home and now is chain smoking and not eating. As a result her weight has plummeted dramatically to around six stone, which by any standards is dangerously low. In The Sun photos taken of her in a bikini at a Thai resort she certainly looks thin.

The only question now – is the report accurate or just Sun sensationalism? Am I being duped again? Maybe, but my gut feeling is that the story rings true. It seems that, like with Cashley’s move to Chelski, the guy plays the field and seems to think the grass is greener elsewhere.

Our club was shafted by Cole but we found a much better left back. My advice to Cheryl would be, if this story is true, forget him, and like Arsenal, find yourself a new man.