Gillingham manager Steve Evans says his loan players from Arsenal are a credit to the Premier League club and their manager Mikel Arteta.

Defender Zech Medley and midfielder Trae Coyle have seen plenty of action for the Gills in the opening weeks of the season and Evans has been delighted with the attitude shown.

Twenty-year-old Medley, one of several professional footballers to have attended the Howard School in Rainham, is the older of the two Arsenal loanees, by six months. Both have recently made their first Football League appearances in the last few weeks while at the Gills.

Neither have brought with them an ego.

Evans said: “When we brought the Arsenal boys in I think one or two of the staff thought ‘what are we getting here?’

“You could get, ‘I am from Arsenal’ and there is a shrug of the shoulders, but we have had the opposite, we have had the two most sensitive, caring lads you could wish to meet, and that is a credit to Mikel and everyone at Arsenal.”

Medley has started five games so far while Coyle had featured in all six up until the home game against Blackpool last weekend. Evans is conscious not to burn out any of the young players who before now have not tasted the blood and thunder of league action.

Coyle did get a run-out against Peterborough United in a practice match in the week and he scored from a set-piece in a 1-1 draw .

The Gills have six loan players on their books and Evans was keen to thank all of those clubs that have helped enable him to put a competitive League 1 side together this summer.

“Resources are tight for everyone and they are tight here,” he said.

“Without the support of Arsenal, Coventry, Celtic and Southampton we would not have been able to put this squad together. They have been so helpful.

“Our chairman openly says we wouldn’t have had those players in without the financial support. They help us because they want their players to play football at a real competitive level.

“Arsenal have a lot of players out on loan. Does it help the big boy Medley? Does it help Coyle? Does it help them to play football? Of course it does.

“We are really grateful because we wouldn’t be where we are and to be able to look forward to every game the way we are without those (loan) players in the building.”

Southampton loanee Tom O’Conner is the oldest of the six at 21 and Evans has described his dressing room as akin to a kindergarten but he loves having the youngsters around.

He said: “It is like being a dad to them but from the Medleys to the Coyles to the Robertsons, I could name them all, even Henry Woods and Joe Walsh (Gills’ own homegrown youngsters), if they were my sons I would be proud of them all.”

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