Gillingham: Weakening League Two rivals has handed Mark Bonner a missing piece – View | OneFootball

Gillingham’s summer rebuild has seen the club add firepower up front, creativity and goals out wide, and, in midfielder Armani Little, a man who could become the beating heart of Mark Bonner’s new-look Gills side.

Bonner has been working closely with the club’s director of football Kenny Jackett to add the right pieces to the Gills’ squad to turn them from a defensively solid, but toothless, team into a side with a genuine goal threat at the sharp end.

His signings of striker Elliott Nevitt and winger Jack Nolan have undoubtedly added plenty of goal potential to the Gillingham lineup, but it’s perhaps the signing of Little that could prove to be the most important acquisition of the summer.

Armani Little helps solve Mark Bonner's midfield problems

Little came up through the Southampton academy and, after stints at Oxford United, Woking (on loan), Torquay United, and Forest Green Rovers, became a midfield mainstay at AFC Wimbledon before he opted to turn down a new deal with the Dons and head east to join Gillingham. His contributions in the middle of the park for the Dons meant that his departure from Wimbledon was met with disappointment, while some fans also acknowledged the qualities that Little would bring to the Kent club’s midfield.

Last week FLW wrote about the club’s head of recruitment Andy Hessenthaler and how he needed to find a player with the sort of qualities he exhibited during his time at Priestfield. Little isn’t exactly a carbon copy of “Hess” but he certainly brings some of the attributes the former Watford man brought to Gillingham in his playing days.

Speaking to the official Gillingham FC website, Little explained what sort of player the club now has in its ranks.

“First and foremost, I’m hardworking,” he said. “I like to try to get on the ball and create things, and I don’t mind a tackle, either. So I’d like to say I’m a bit of an all-rounder.”

Those words will be music to the ears of Gills fans, who have seen the team's midfield lacking a genuine box-to-box player for a few seasons. A potential partnership with young midfield anchorman Ethan Coleman looks likely, with Little's industry potentially helping to create space for the likes of Jonny Williams to provide the bullets for the team's new strikeforce of Josh Andrews and Nevitt.

Weaking Wimbledon can only be good news for Gills

Little's arrival carries another benefit, too. AFC Wimbledon finished one point and two places above the Gills in League Two last season, and will fancy a run at the play-offs themselves. But the loss of a key cog in their midfield won't help their chances, as they look to replace the outgoing Little before the new season gets underway in August.

But, while some Dons fans may be disappointed to see him go, the Gillingham faithful have already welcomed Little to the club, with a healthy crowd turning out in Gillingham High Street to attend his official unveiling. And if he can slot into Mark Bonner's midfield and become the heart of the Gills' team, the club could be in good shape as they look to mount a promotion challenge in 2024/25.