ASHLEY Cole last night delivered a stark assessment of England's international prospects when he insisted: "Arsenal have a better team."

Cole was an integral part of the history-making Arsenal side that went through the whole of last season unbeaten in the Premiership, and also played in all four England games as Sven-Goran Eriksson's side crashed out of the European Championships this summer.

The Gunners kicked off their new season in perfect fashion last weekend with a 4-1 win at Everton, and England will hope for a similarly successful start to their World Cup preparations when they face Ukraine at St James' Park tonight.

Cole has enjoyed almost unparalleled success on the club stage but has, so far, failed to achieve anything substantial in the international arena.

And, while he remains bullish about England's forthcoming qualifying campaign, he can see only one winner if the national side were to go head to head with the Premiership champions.

"I would go for Arsenal," admitted Cole, who will win his 30th cap this evening. "We've got a great team with England but, with Arsenal, you're playing with some unbelievable players.

"Henry, Vieira and, now, Reyes - he's been fantastic and hopefully he can continue to improve. We think we've got a great team, a great squad and great young players.

"I've always felt more comfortable playing for Arsenal. I just think we have a fuller team in every position. We've got Sol (Campbell) controlling the defence, Patrick getting back and that helps to keep things tight."

Cole has always displayed a refreshing honesty when discussing his football, often chastising himself for what he perceived to be sub-standard displays in the early stages of his international career.

The 23-year-old admits that he let himself down in some of his earliest appearances for England, with an unexpected lack of confidence hampering his ability to transfer his club form onto the international stage.

The all-action full-back has built his game around a willingness to surge forward, but the sense of adventure that has served him so well on the club stage has often proved his undoing in an England shirt.

"At the start, I was doubting myself after nearly every game for England," admitted Cole. "Macedonia away stands out - it always seemed like I was the one making little mistakes.

"I just had to hit myself on the head and say 'You have to start playing well'. I was playing well for Arsenal, but I wasn't for England.

"I had to look at my game and see what was going wrong. That's what I did and I think I've started to defend better for England.

"I'm not attacking at stupid moments anymore and I think that's what's made me a better player. When I was playing for England at the start, I was attacking every time I got the ball and that left me out of position.

"I'm also a lot more confident when I play for England now. I'm quite shy - you probably wouldn't think it, but I need confidence and I need people to give me that confidence.

"I need to know that I'm good enough to be there because, at one stage, I was doubting my ability. Now, I feel I can play at this level."

Cole's improvement was evident during Euro 2004, the left-back was one of the few England players to emerge with reputation enhanced.

His energetic display against Portugal represented his finest outing in an England shirt, as he was regularly his side's best attacking option as well as their most reliable defender.

Chelsea's Wayne Bridge will continue to press his claims for the left-back berth, but Cole seems certain to be one of the bedrocks of Eriksson's World Cup campaign.

Euro 2004 has helped the Londoner to feel at home in the England set-up but, as a left footer, he will always be something of an outsider in the present squad.

Eriksson is still no nearer solving the conundrum of England's left-sided problem - with the retirement of Paul Scholes he is arguably further away than ever - and Cole admits that his game suffers from the lack of a regular partner on the flank.

"It's always nice to have someone in front of you who you've played with over a prolonged period," he said.

"Gary Neville and David Beckham have that relationship - they know each other so well and they play well together.

"When I've played for Arsenal I've always had Robert Pires there and we've worked well together.

"If we could find a left winger for England, it might help me to settle down and relax a bit more."