Who is Arsenal’s first signing of the January transfer window? Meet Cohen Bramall

The Gunners are on the cusp of adding a 20-year-old from the seventh tier of English football, but where will he fit into Arsene Wenger’s plans?

The 20-year-old recently spent two days on trial with the Gunners where he left enough of an impression to earn himself a permanent deal, taking part in a training session with the first team.

Bramall, a versatile left-sided player, is expected to go straight into Arsenal’s under-23 side where he’ll battle for a place on the left alongside Marc Bola and Tolaji Bola.

The skilful wing-back is able to play at left-back or in midfield and will be a welcome addition to an Arsenal side who have a tradition of bringing through attacking full-backs.

Possessed with bagfuls of pace, Bramall focused on his budding athletics career as a teenager and only recently prioritised football over running.

Spells at Kidsgrove Athletic, Alsager Town, Nantwich Town and Market Drayton eventually earned Bramall a move to Newcastle Town where he reportedly went under the radar in terms of performances, prompting a former Town reporter to tweet “A few years ago I was at Newcastle Town reporting on Cohen Bramall and just 2 years later he’s off to Arsenal, didn’t see that coming”.

Bramall joined Hednesford this summer and hasn’t looked back since. He made inroads with a handful of eye-catching performances, one of which included a rabona assist which went viral and subsequently triggered the interest of several top-flight clubs, eventually landing him a trial with Arsenal.Although the signing has made headlines due to Bramall being signed from the seventh tier of English football, it remains unlikely that he’ll be seen in the first team anytime soon due to the presence of Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs at left-back.