The 23-year-old Arsenal man joined the club on transfer deadline day, and after watching the defeat to West Ham that night as part of the crowd at Kenilworth Road, he finally got chance to step out in front of almost 3,000 travelling fans by the Thames.

“I think it wasn’t a bad one,” came the Belgian’s response when asked about his new side’s performance. “We were close to scoring some goals, but unfortunately we don’t have the three points so we need to work on that.

“But we were close, so we need to stick together and to keep working the way we are working.”

Sambi played in a double pivot with Marvelous Nakamba, as the Hatters contained the Cottagers despite the hosts dominating possession, limiting them to few clear-cut chances.

“I liked it, it was very good,” he said of his partnership with the Zimbabwe international. “I think I had a nice relationship with Marv, so yes, we need to build on that because there are plenty of games coming.”

The Hatters’ game-by-game improvement has seen them come close to taking something from both the West Ham and Fulham matches, following three-goal defeats to Brighton and Chelsea in the opening two matches.

The former Anderlecht youngster added: “I think we were close to Fulham today, there wasn’t a big gap between us, so we just need to find the net, try to be ruthless when we have some chances. That’s what we need to work on.

“The positive thing is that we had some chances, so I keep saying the same – it is just to be ruthless and try to score the chances or the half chances that we get.”