Nacer reflects

Nacer Chadli admitted to a couple of sleepless nights after Sunday's derby loss at the Lane.

The Belgian international was at the centre of three chances in quick succession as we poured the pressure on the Gunners in the second half.

Nacer was on the spot when Wojciech Szczesny twice dropped crosses only to be denied by Bacary Sagna and then Laurent Koscielny on the goalline.

Minutes later, Nacer was there again as Andros Townsend raided down the right, only for the winger's cross to fall slightly behind him and he couldn’t turn the ball on target.

Those three chances almost summed up the afternoon - we had 59 per cent possession and 17 shots to Arsenal’s seven but couldn’t find the equaliser as the visitors took maximum points thanks to Tomas Rosicky’s early piledriver.

“I did some good things in the game but I also should have scored,” reflected Nacer back at the Training Centre, who described the second of his chances.

“Everything happened so quickly. I couldn’t do it with my first touch so I took a second, chopped inside onto my right and shot, but there were two defenders on the line. Perhaps it looked easier than it was.

“Two days later and I’m still thinking about this game. I didn’t get a lot of sleep for two nights thinking about it.

“It’s a huge shame that we lost the game. We had more of the ball and more chances. We deserved more.”

Nacer, who started at the Emirates in September, relished every second of his first derby at the Lane.

“It’s a game you have to play in to feel it,” he said. “The atmosphere was electric. Even after going 1-0 down in the second minute, the fans were right behind us throughout the game, pushing us. They were fantastic."