Nasri's debut delight

French ace believes he can adapt quickly in England

By James Pearson   Last updated: 17th August 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Nasri's debut delight

Narsi: Debut delight

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Samir Nasri was naturally delighted to start his Arsenal career with a debut goal and feels he could adapt to English football quicker than expected.

Despite arriving at Emirates Stadium this summer from Marseille in a £12million deal with plenty of experience under his belt, manager Arsene Wenger was not expecting too much from him too soon.

But with influential midfielder Cesc Fabregas on the sidelines Nasri was given an early opportunity to shine and he took his chance with both hands with a debut goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over West Brom.

Dream start

"I could not dream of a better start, to score in my first game after four minutes," beamed Nasri.

"Now I will have to continue week in and week out, and hopefully I can keep playing like that, it will be brilliant.

"There were not that many problems for me to adapt to playing in England.

"When I first met the boss, he said that maybe I would need a bit of time, maybe up to six months - but actually I felt really good straight away."

Beef up

English football is well-known for its physical nature and Nasri has confirmed he is on a special programme to help him beef up.

"I have a personal programme with the physio to get stronger, because everyone has told me English football is different, with more contact," he continued.

"It is just to be stronger and to be able to cope with the 50/50s, with the intensity of English football. I am working hard in training and felt really good out on the pitch."