As the pace of the game grows quicker and quicker, speed is now an essential asset to the modern footballer.

To measure the speed of some of the quickest players ever, here is a list of the fastest 100-metre times recorded by professional football players.

7. Afolabi Obafemi | Unattached
Following a disappointing tenure with Leyton Orient over the past year, ‘Affy’ was released by the O’s last April. However, his searing pace may grant him another opportunity in professional football.
In 2009, the former Watford youth player ran the 100m in 11.6 seconds at the London Youth Games as a 14-year-old.

6. Nathan Dyer | Swansea City
Standing at just 165cm, Dyer is hardly blessed with the height or physique of an elite sprinter.
Saying that, it may come as a surprise that the Swansea winger clocked 11.3 seconds over 100m as a 15-year-old.

5. Gareth Bale | Tottenham / Real Madrid
Undoubtedly one of the most dangerous players in Europe, Bale is renowned for his blistering pace and seemingly infinite stamina.
One of the finest athletes in the Premier League, the Tottenham star reportedly ran the 100m in 11.4 seconds as a 14-year-old.

4. Nedum Onuoha | Queens Park Rangers
One of the most powerfully-built players in the Premier League, it’s easy to see why Onuoha was tipped for a career in athletics in his teenage years.
The Queens Park Rangers defender recorded an impressive 11.09 seconds over 100m as a 15-year-old during the English Schools Championships in 2001.

3. Ryo Miyaichi | Arsenal
Since joining Arsenal in 2011, Miyaichi has been hyped up as the man to finally match Theo Walcott for speed, and it seems he could give the Englishman a run for his money.
In an interview with SoccerBible.com, the 20-year-old claimed his fastest 100m time is an astonishing 10.8 seconds.

2. Theo Walcott | Arsenal
Like many other players featured in this list, Theo Walcott spent most of his childhood deciding whether to pursue athletics or football.
Despite boasting am incredible personal best of 10.6 seconds, the Arsenal speedster does not hold the fastest reported 100m time by a professional footballer.

1. Marvell Wynne | Colarado Rapids
Virtually unknown to those outside the United States, Marvell Wynne was an accomplished competitor in both football and athletics during his teenage years.
Although he turned down a career in sprinting, the American defender ran 100m in an unprecedented 10.39 seconds during his senior year of high school – the fastest reported time by a professional footballer.