Winning the FA cup in England is very different from anywhere else in the world. It means a lot more than just finishing the season with a piece of silverware. It means winning the oldest (1871) and toughest association football competition in the history of football. For Mohamed Al-Nenni, things were a bit special. The first ever Egyptian to play for the Gunners of Arsenal coming from Switzerland's Basel in January 2016 was a huge achievement for Egyptian fans as well as the player. But no one predicted what was going to happen next. Arsenal were not at their best with Arsene Wenger since the beginning of the season, struggling to keep up at least an average performance that could keep them among the big four in the Premier League. A huge number of the club's fan base and sports analysts across the world were asking for the departure of the French manager but the board clearly had faith in Wenger and even offered him a new contract. The pressure was intense on everyone from the fans to the board to the manager and the players. The surrounding heat obviously affected the appearance of Al-Nenni in the starting sheet in the last quarter of the season. Wenger was always keen to fill the slots with experienced players who could lift the pressure and criticism off his shoulders. But destiny had a surprise hidden behind her back for both the Gunners and the Egyptian midfielder after reaching the FA cup final against Chelsea, the league's fresh winners. Maybe it was the right time. Not many were expecting Arsenal to win. The league winners were the favourites but the Gunners had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Those were some of the headlines flying around before last week's FA cup final. Once the game started, the players appeared to have nothing in their heads but the match. Arsenal had the upper hand since the fifth minute when Alexis Sanchez gave them the lead. Fast forward with chances here and there, Victor Moses decides to take an early shower after a second yellow card from a silly dive to get a penalty. Chelsea then went for the equaliser through Diego Costa in the 76th minute, but just three minutes afterwards, Aaron Ramsey clinched a step for Arsenal towards glory by scoring another goal to make it 2-1. In added time, Al-Nenni went in for Sanchez to become the first ever Egyptian to play in the FA cup final. With a late chance, Al-Nenni was very close to scoring as well. Al-Nenni became the first ever Egyptian to win the FA cupand the second to win a major English competition after Mohamed Salah won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2014.
