Nasri quick out of the blocks

Samir Nasri has expressed his delight at such a quick start to his Arsenal career. His fourth minute goal is the fastest by a player making his debut in the Premier League.

Having been warned of the physical nature of the game in England and the need to adapt Samir was surprised to find that he settled as quickly as he did.

Speaking after his first competitive game for the club against West Brom at the Emirates he said "I could not dream of a better start, to score in my first game after four minutes. 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."

Nevertheless he isn`t taking anything for granted as he prepares for the demands adding: "I have a personal programme with the physio to get stronger, because everyone has told me English football is different, with more contact. 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."

The £12m recruit from Marseilles is a player that Wenger, in typical style, has watched for some time. "I saw him start his first game and he gave me an impression that you keep with you, and when you see things you have to go with your beliefs." Arsene said, continuing "He has a bit of Pires in him maybe, because he looks to be able to change direction very easily."

Dismissing references to another French hero, Zinedine Zidane, that links to his Algerian ancestry Samir wants to be known as his own man: "It is of course flattering, but also a bit annoying as well because that is a lot of pressure," he said. "It is hard to be compared to such a player, the best of the past 10 years in European football. When you are a young player, you tend to be a bit erratic and not play so well every week. It is a lot of pressure and I would rather be known as Samir Nasri."

His impressive performance in yesterday`s match had him tagged as most observers man of the match. It would have been hard for him to have wished for a better start.

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