I was sacked as a factory worker, the next day I was playing along Mesut Ozil at Arsenal – I was gobsmacked
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COHEN BRAMALL was training with Arsenal's first team including World Cup winner Mesut Ozil - just days after being sacked by car giant Bentley. The current Rotherham's left-back was "gobsmacked" when he was shoved straight into Arsenal's senior practice under Arsene Wenger in 2017.
![[Cohen Bramall impressed at an Arsenal trial, the day after he was made redundant from a factory]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/msemail_arsenal_30590474_160542767963713_7243129793976205312_njpg-JS954966297.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Bramall played for Hednesford in the Northern League Premier Division on a part-time basis, while working full-time at a car factory. He told BBC Sport: "I got made redundant by Bentley on the Tuesday [20 December], which was crazy because I didn't know what I was going to do.
![[Bramall now plays at League One side Rotherham]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SOCCER-Rotherham-20143446jpg-JS810925616.jpg?strip=all&w=702)
"My agent Lee Payne rings me on the Wednesday saying you've got a trial at Arsenal. I was like 'what?' - I was gobsmacked. "He said pack your stuff and get to this postcode, so I packed all my stuff in about an hour, got there as fast as I could, slept for a bit, then the next minute I'm in training with the first team.
![[Bramall's four Arsenal appearances all came in friendlies]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/arsenal-bramall.png?strip=all&w=820)
"It was crazy how quick everything happened, how I met everyone and they just took me straight in. I had to take the opportunity with both hands.". A trial match with Sheffield Wednesday U23s had been watched by Arsenal scout Brian McDermott, who called Bramall’s agent.
![[Bramall later played against Mason Greenwood at Old Trafford for Colchester]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bramall-greenwood.png?strip=all&w=861)
The following morning, he was training with Arsenal’s first team after expecting to meet up with the reserves. He said: "I got chucked into a 5-vs-5 with some of the best players in the world, like Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech. It was crazy. FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS.
![[He has since worked his way up the EFL pyramid and boasts 58,000 followers on Instagram]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/msemail_cohenbramall_435981024_18437128267028146_8555655350929387727_njpg-JS954965888.jpg?strip=all&w=702)
