The 29th November 2018 wasn't just a special day for Bukayo Saka. An icy -12°C night at the NSK Olimpiiskyi Stadium in Kyiv played host to Arsenal's three-nil victory against FC Vorskla Poltava in the UEFA Europa League.
Not only did the England international make his first-ever appearance for the Gunners, but a young Zech Medley also came off the bench seven minutes prior as one of the three debutants that night, replacing Rob Holding.
“Just being there and travelling with the squad was an amazing feeling," says Medley. "Around the 60th minute, I got called over to come on. It was freezing cold, but as soon as I heard my name, I just had to run back over to the bench and get ready to come on.
"At the time, I didn’t really have that much time to think so I just had to get on the pitch and do what I needed to do, and then after I reflected, my phone was going off and everyone was messaging me.
"I was really excited, but as soon as I got on the pitch I had to switch on. I got on the pitch and had Petr Čech in goal behind me screaming at me to get back into position. You have to be in the zone, it’s obviously easy to get sidetracked and caught up in the moment, and after the game finished you could take it all in and relish the nice moment.”
The Arsenal side did superbly in the Europa League that season, reaching the final after beating Stade Rennais, Napoli and Valencia. However, they were undone by Medley's former youth side, Chelsea, in the final, denying them of a first major European trophy since the inauguration of the Champions and Europa League tournaments.
The 23-year-old is grateful for former Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, who bestowed his trust in promoting the defender to the first team. The current Aston Villa manager received harsh criticism from Arsenal fans, but has since done a better job in his return to the Premier League.
“It was a difficult moment to come in. He was learning English as much as he could and obviously, that side was maybe difficult as well, trying to interact with players, but he did as well as he could.
"You can see now why he’s doing so well at [Aston] Villa, and even before he came to Villa. The way he wanted to play and we still saw it in glimpses in games.
"In the Leicester game that I was on the bench for, the football Arsenal were playing was good but the results weren’t there, and there were a lot of injuries as well. Hence why I even maybe got an opportunity as well.
"I’m happy to see how well he is doing as a manager at Aston Villa in the Premier League. For me, he gave me my debut so I am always grateful to him and his staff and I feel like they helped as much as they could at the club at the time.”
Having been handed his professional debut by Emery at just 18 years old, Medley accelerated through the academy pathways, first captaining the U18 side under former Swansea City midfielder Kwame Ampadu, and then graduating to the U23 side that went on to win the Premier League 2 that same season.
The defender had only joined Arsenal from Chelsea in December 2016. An academy inundated with talent was too big to play everyone consistently, and Medley was one of many who moved away from Cobham in pursuit of more game time.
“It was an important role, something that happened when I was around 16/17 and had just signed my first professional contract with the club. That was another amazing achievement as well, and it was shortly after some disappointing news that I had left Chelsea Academy.
"I was a few months into my scholarship there, and the squad was very big, just looking at some of the names that have come from that amazing group and I decided to make the move to Arsenal.
"To be captain was a great feeling. My leadership skills were something that I had to work on, I wasn’t always one to be screaming and shouting but especially playing, and Arsenal saw me as a centre-back, and they gave me that role and that pedal stall to improve on it.”
The U23 team that won the PL2 that season was filled with talented players. AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun led the line, Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock slotted in midfield and West Ham's Konstantinos Mavropanos paired with Medley, alongside the likes of current Arsenal players Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson.
“Winning the PL2 was a special moment. A really good group of boys and we had a strong squad that season. It was a good year for me as I played a lot of football that year as it was still my first year as a pro but I could still play in the U18s.
"So, I played in the U18s during the first half of the season and started to get some more games in the U23s during the second half of the season, and then we managed to push on and win the league," Medley recalls.
He also had a strong bond with Nketiah and Smith Rowe in particular, who he knew from the younger age groups.
“I came across Emile [Smith Rowe] from the younger age groups and I’m still good friends with him now. Also, Eddie [Nketiah] as well, who was at Chelsea. When I moved to Arsenal it made it a bit easier and playing alongside those types of players every day improves you and getting to see them excel and seeing what they do now is amazing.”
Smith Rowe also featured on the bench with Medley in his first ever Premier League matchday squad - a 3-1 win against Leicester City with goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Özil with a trademark 'Özil bounce' finish.
In fact, the defender found out from Smith Rowe that he was featuring in the squad on the morning of the game.
“It was a crazy moment. It came a bit unexpectedly. I actually found out from Emile, and I still remember the day like it was yesterday.
"Around that period I had been training with the first team a bit and playing with the U23s. We both had a game on the Monday night and so did the first team. We were both training with the first team on the Sunday, but in my head, I was still thinking I was going to be involved with the U23s on the Monday.
"I had finished training, came back in, got changed and was about to leave the training ground, and Emile asked me if I was excited. I said ‘What are you talking about?’ and Emile had already seen the 20-man squad.
"Just to hear that being in the 20-man squad was amazing, but the next day two players were doubts and waiting on scan results. Unfortunately, they didn’t come back too positive, but that meant Emile & I were on the bench that night and I had found out the day before the game. It was a surreal moment.”
Smith Rowe has gone on to feature over 100 times for Arsenal, including an iconic breakthrough season in 2021/22 where he contributed with ten goals in the Premier League. The 23-year-old has since struggled with various injuries, missing 26 games for the Gunners. However, he has returned recently and shown glimpses of the talent that Arsenal fans saw a few seasons ago.
But the central defender knew of his and the others' potential just by watching them train every day and is confident that they will grow even more.
“I knew these boys were amazing obviously to play with and see in training every day. The first time I came across Bukayo [Saka], he was even playing left-back at the time and I was playing centre-back and we went to the Futures Cup tournament. That was my first real introduction to him, I had heard of him but for him to play with us, in the 2000s age group, back then was a good thing.
"The confidence you see him have now, he would play the same way back then even from left-back, carrying the ball well. It is great to see him [excelling] now. Emile was always that technically gifted player who looked smooth and elegant on the ball. To see them grow is really good and I am happy for them.”
While the spotlight often shines on Saka and Smith Rowe, the 23-year-old also highlights the contributions of other underappreciated players such as Eddie Nketiah, who he believes has the potential to excel even further.
“I could say a lot!" Medley tells us. "There are always good players, even Eddie has done really well and he can still push on and excel even more.
"I have always seen it in Eddie, and it is sometimes hard for fans to see because they won’t see what’s happening behind the scenes all the time. He has got these records from the younger age groups and was always scoring goals.
"It’s just amazing to see everyone on their own pathway and journey and wanting to play football, it’s what it's all about.”
Medley created his own unique pathway after the COVID pandemic, spending two short-term loan spells at Gillingham and then Kilmarnock.
Joining KV Oostende in June 2021 marked a new chapter in his career, one filled with challenges and opportunities for growth.
'De Kustboys' or in English, 'The Coastboys', are based in the city of Oostende, a small city close to Bruges on the coast of Belgium.
KV Oostende were formed in 1981, as a merger of two local teams, AS Oostende and VG Oostende. The club have not won Belgium's top division nor the domestic cup tournament, but came runners-up to the latter in 2016-2017.
They have developed some promising players, namely centre-backs. Arthur Theate and Jack Hendry both had spells at Oostende before moving to Stade Rennais and Club Brugge respectively, while Belgian international Wout Faes also learnt his trade at Oostende before joining Reims and then Leicester City.
But what is it about Oostende and creating talented centre-backs specifically?
“I think it’s the style and the way we like to play," Medley answers. "We like to put a lot of pressure on the opponent and play that way. It is quite a progressive style. I think that just helps and is something that I have wanted to improve on in my game as well.
"The way they pitched their vision to me and showed me how they wanted to play also suited how I played already and what I needed to work on. It felt like the right move to make and I am happy that I came here.”
KV Oostende were relegated from Belgium's top division last season, the Belgian Pro League, having finished 16th. This season, off-the-field antics have marred the positive atmosphere that the club have been building, and a six-point deduction has left them around the bottom of Belgium's second tier.
De Kustboys currently sit in 13th and lie three points above safety. With six games to go, it looks set for a nervous run-in, but Oostende only have to play one of the sides that sit in the top three.
When asked about the aspirations that he has for the rest of the season, the response is simple.
“It’s definitely to stay in this division. It’s been a difficult season with a lot going on [internally]. Despite what’s going on, we have stuck together and I think the main thing is staying in this league, and it has made us that bit stronger as a team.
"We are ready to push now for these last six games in the league and we also just had a good cup run, so that is something for us to be proud of. Personally, playing in the rest of the games and keeping as many clean sheets is the goal. We have kept quite a few compared to previous seasons and I think that’s one thing we have managed to improve. For these last few games, I think we can do that and kill off the games.”