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Loan defender Zech Medley came face to face with one of his Arsenal team-mates on Tuesday night.
Mark McGuinness was making his league debut at the back for opponents Ipswich Town and Medley enjoyed the battle - even if he didn’t enjoy the result.
Medley, 20, said: “It was a good battle with him. It is our first loans and it is great experience for us to get out into men’s football and start getting minutes and experience for our careers.
“It’s good to see some familiar faces, there are quite a lot of us in the league, and it’s good to play each other and see how we’re getting on. We are on the journey together. We just have to keep working hard.”
Trae Coyle was an unused sub for the Gills on Tuesday night and is another loanee from Arsenal. The pair will get the chance to see even more familiar faces in the weeks ahead.
Young Arsenal forward Tyreece John-Jules is on loan at Doncaster, midfielder Matt Smith is at Swindon, defender Tolaji Bola on loan at Rochdale and Dan Ballard with Blackpool. Goalkeeper Deyan Iliev has played a couple of games for Shrewsbury.
All are getting a taste of men’s football in a division that isn’t short of quality. The Gills are currently in a run of games against some heavyweights, losing to Ipswich Town on Tuesday and now preparing for a weekend game against Sunderland.
Medley said: “It’s a tough league and we have a lot of positives to take from the game (at Ipswich).
“We have tough opponents every week and it is great for my experience. I am trying to relish it as much as I can.
“We’re coming up against different players, different types of strikers, I am learning a lot of different things, especially learning from experienced players in the dressing room, it is great for me to be here.
“I can’t wait for the weekend game against Sunderland, it will be a great test for us, and as a team we will be ready for it. It was tough for us on Tuesday but we have to go out there and give it our best and hopefully we will get the three points.”
Medley and the Gills have lost their last four games but the young defender is confident their fortunes will change.
“We will get there in the end,” he said.
“We have to keep our heads held high, there are a lot of games coming up and we have to keep pushing onto the next one. We said in the changing rooms at the end that it is going to come. Performances are starting to change and we can gradually build on them.
“We are managing to keep the spirits high, despite the defeats.”
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