What happened to Arsenal’s ‘young Ashley Cole’, as dubbed by Arsene Wenger himself?

Arsenal signed a 20 year-old Cohen Bramall from Non-League football back in 2017, and manager Arsene Wenger was of the belief that he had unearthed a potential star.

The Frenchman labelled Bramall a ‘young Ashley Cole’ in an interview with BeinSports (via Goal) shortly after his arrival, having signed the youngster following a trial with the club.

After six months with the club, the left-back was sent out on loan with Birmingham City in the Championship, but he returned to the Gunners with only five league appearances in his armoury.

Bramall believes that Arsene Wenger’s departure in the summer of 2018 was a blow to his career, with new manager Unai Emery not giving him the time of day after he took over the role.

“When Arsene left it changed the whole thing for me, I’m gutted that he left,” Bramall told Goal back in 2019.

“When Unai came in I was hoping to train across with the first-team but I didn’t really get that opportunity.

“I didn’t have a conversation with Unai at all. That’s the thing. I didn’t have a conversation with him once.

“It was probably difficult for him because I’m guessing he was told I didn’t have the best of loans at Birmingham, so he just binned me off.

“And when I did get told to go over there and train, it was at the last minute. That’s the thing that upset me a bit because I didn’t get the chance to show Unai what I could do, like I did with Arsene.

“The last three months I worked really hard to see if anything would change, but nothing did. So I knew it was coming. I already accepted it when Arsene went.”

The defender is now plying his trade with Lincoln City, who currently sit pretty on top of the League One table on course for promotion to the Championship, and recalls his emphatic move to Arsenal FC, one which he’ll ‘never forget’.

Wenger saw something special in Cohen, and demanded a lot from him in order to try and help him reach the potential he had. Bramall was asked his thoughts from working under the Gunners legend all those years ago.

“Demanding,” Cohen stated when talking with LincolnshireLive this week. “A world-class coach but a world-class person as well. He took me under his wing straight away.

“Forget about the two-and-half-year contract, for him to ask me to come on trial, working with the first team and seeing how he coached blew my mind.

“It’s one of those things I’ll never forget. I’ll always be grateful for it.”

At 24, there is still time for Cohen Bramall to return to the Premier League, especially if he is able to help his side to earn promotion to the English second-tier, but you have to wonder if Wenger would have carved out another path for our former youth.

Patrick