Cohen Bramall has given an interview to the most recent edition of Arsenal’s magazine and has revealed just how fast he is.
A shock signing during this window, the left-back comes with a reputation for being a speedster. His former boss at Hednesford said at the start of the month, “He is one of the fastest footballers I have seen both on and off the ball. He can run the 100m in less than 11secs.
“His left foot is very good and he’s very much a modern-day full-back, a player who likes to bomb on.”
Now Bramall himself has confirmed those figures.
He told Nik Brumsack in an interview, some of which is available on Arsenal.com, “The last time I did 400 metres was about nine or 10 months ago.
“I clocked in at about 10.9 seconds, but on average I’m looking at about 11.2 or 11.3.”
The 20-year-old made his debut in an Arsenal shirt when he turned out for the u23s against Southampton in a game they won 3-1. Admitting it was ‘hard to get used to’, he also told Arsenal player, “It was so fast… it was hard to get used to.
“I just need to do well now, keep training and keep getting better and better. Hopefully, I can get to where I need to be in the future.
“It’ll be a big challenge, because from Hednesford in the league I played in, it was pretty slow and I had a lot more time on the ball than I did here. It was fast and I need to be better and think quicker on the ball.”
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger outlined his plans for the youngster.
“He will start with the under-23s,” Wenger told Arsenal Player. “First [he has] to show at youth level that he can quickly make the first team.
“Overall I believe he has fantastic physical qualities, he has a good level of motivation because he has gone down and come up again.
“[He has] to prepare, to challenge the first-team players as quickly as he can. That could be in a very short period of time.
“He has the ingredients: the timing of his runs is very good, he has decent technique and exceptional pace. These are very important ingredients today.
“He was an athlete before and he came late to the game and that’s why I believe in him. Can he manage the tactical aspect and the technical aspect? Physically, he will be top level.”