The Arsenal u21s topped their EFL Trophy group with a win over Gillingham on Tuesday, but loanee Trae Coyle certainly caught the eye with the opposition.

Trae Coyle scores for Gillingham against the Arsenal u21s (Photo via GillinghamFootballClub.co.uk)
Trae Coyle scores for Gillingham against the Arsenal u21s (Photo via GillinghamFootballClub.co.uk)

Both Trae Coyle and Zech Medley were in a rather strange situation on Tuesday night. The two Arsenal loanees both started against their parent club for Gillingham, after confirming they were eligible to do so.

Coyle, in particular, certainly didn’t hold back against the club he’s spent almost a decade with so far. In fact, he scored Gillingham’s only goal of the 90 minutes.

Racing in behind the Arsenal defence, Coyle latched onto an over-the-top long pass to volley in at the near post. It was an impressive finish, though he was tactful enough not to celebrate it.

Later in the second half, Coyle actually had the ball in the net again, but the offside flag denied him a brace. After the match finished 1-1, the 19-year-old stepped up to convert the first penalty of the shootout.

As well as his obvious goal threat, taking four shots (three on target) the loanee also created three chances in normal time. It was arguably his best performance for Gillingham yet.

Coyle is now up to three goals from 645 minutes of action with his current club. He scored on his full debut against Crawley Town, before netting a League One goal against Wigan. However, he only has three starts in 11 league games so far.

Hopefully, Tuesday’s performance will get Coyle back in contention for further starts. Gillingham have one league goal from their last six league games, so they could use some attacking impetus.

“I thought we did well,” Coyle said after the game. “A draw was probably a fair result. I have played for Arsenal since I was eight; it was the first time coming up against them, but I enjoyed it and it was a good evening.”