ASHLEY COLE is considering taking a restraint of trade case to the High Court as the fallout from the notorious “tapping-up” affair shows no sign of abating. The Arsenal defender suffered a setback yesterday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed his appeal against an FA Premier League fine for talking to Chelsea, but he will not give up without a fight.

Cole is adamant that he did nothing wrong in meeting José Mourinho and Peter Kenyon to discuss his future in a West London hotel last January and is considering further legal action to clear his name. The CAS ruled that Cole’s appeal against a £75,000 fine was inadmissible on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to rule on the dispute between the player and the Premier League.

Cole’s representatives are unhappy that his appeal has been thrown out because of a technicality, while there is also suspicion of Fifa, which was keen to avoid a test case that would throw its transfer system into jeopardy.

There was further distress at Highbury yesterday. Given Arsenal’s desperation to convince Thierry Henry to finish his career at the club, they appear to going about it the wrong way. If they cannot cling on to an extra-time lead against Wigan Athletic, how do they expect to keep hold of the most sought-after striker in Europe? Henry was withering in his assessment of the latest setback, scarcely disguising his contempt for team-mates who allowed Graham Kavanagh’s punt up field to end up in back of their net, via the boot of Jason Roberts.

“It’s a bit difficult to swallow when the game is finished and you concede a goal like that,” he said. “We’re learning the hard way. I was in the dressing-room (after being substituted) looking at the game and it was just a long ball, not looking for anyone. We played tremendously at times, but it’s always strange to concede a goal like that at the end of the game. I was relaxed when the ball went over the top, yet they scored. At the moment we are making mistakes that we cannot afford.”

Henry is not the only one to observe that history appears to be repeating itself, with Arsenal being undone by the ball over the top in recent away defeats by Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Wigan. From the moment Didier Drogba barged Philippe Senderos off the ball to score in the FA Community Shield last August, this fragility in the face of aerial bombardment has undermined Arsenal’s season.

“We conceded the same goal at Everton, we conceded the same goal against Wigan in the first leg and even though you can play football and try to win the game, it becomes really difficult,” Henry said.