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Birmingham City consigned Arsenal to another final defeat, as they emerged victorious late in the day in the Carling Cup final between the two teams at Wembley. Birmingham, who had gone trophyless for close to 50 years, beat the mighty Gunners, who were looking for their first piece of silverware since their 2005 FA Cup truimph. The match lived up to its billing, as both teams provided for some swift, attacking play and went out for the win. The game was clinched by an 89th minute goal from Obafemi Martins, after Robin van Persie had cancelled out Nikola Zigic's early strike in the first half. The loss continued Arsenal's trophy hoodoo, as the North London team lost out on a glorious opportunity to add a piece to their trophy cabinet.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas suffered an unfortunate hamstring injury in the midweek game against Stoke City, which meant he was not part of the Gunners' lineup for the final. He was joined on the sidelines by England winger Theo Walcott, who also suffered an ill-timed ankle knock. However, Robin van Persie, one of the three players who were part of the squad when Arsenal won the FA Cup in 2005 along with Fabregas and Almunia, was deemed fit enough to start the game. He led the line, with Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri for company on the wings. Tomas Rosicky started in midfield alonside Alex Song and Jack Wilshire. At the back, the in-form Johan Djourou partnered Laurent Koscielny, with Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna filling the full-back spots. Wojciech Szczesny continued in goal, as Arsenal looked to field their strongest possible team to win them their first trophy in six years.

Birmingham City were worthy opponents, having beaten the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham on their way to Wembley, and even though Arsenal were favourites, their threat could not be discounted. Manager Alex McLeish decided to play a 4-5-1, with Nikola Zigic, who had three goals in his last four games, getting a start upfront. Sebastian Larsson and Keith Fahey played out on the wings, with Lee Bowyer, Craig Gardner and Barry Ferguson getting starts in the center of midfield. Martin Jiranek was able to recover from his hip injury to start for the team at center-half with Roger Johnson. Stephen Carr and Liam Ridgewell played at full-back, with Ben Foster, who had won the Carling Cup previously with Manchester United, starting in goal.

Arsenal had a huge reprieve very early in the game, as Zigic controlled a pass before playing a throughball to Lee Bowyer, who was brought down by Szczesny inside the box. It was an undisputable penalty and a possible sending-off, but the referee pulled the play back for a very harsh off-side decision against Bowyer, as the player was played on by Clichy. Soon however, Arsenal regained their composure and started settling into their rhythm. Ben Foster pulled off a good save with his feet from Arshavin's shot, after the Russian was found by Nasri with a reverse pass. Nasri, who is on the verge of signing a contract extension at Arsenal, was getting involved in most of Arsenal's forward play, as he jinked past three players before skying his shot high and wide.

Birmingham, however, got the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute through in-form striker Nikola Zigic. A corner came to Roger Johnson who headed towards goal, the Serbian Zigic climbing above Szczesny to glide the ball into the goal. Arsenal looked for an immediately reply, and almost got it from the restart, as Van Persie's header from a cross from the right just missed the top corner. Chances came at both ends, as Zigic could have doubled his tally after the ball ran to him in the box after Gardner was tripped on the edge of the area.

Arsenal clearly looked rattled, as they were having problems dealing with crosses into their box. But in the attacking third, they looked potent, as the Gunners came fighting back and drew level just before the forty-minute mark. They broke from a defensive set-piece at great pace, and Wilshere, who recieved a pass on the edge of the box, rattled the bar with a ferocious drive. The ball came back to Arshavin, who crossed from the byline for Van Persie, the Dutch striker acrobatically volleying the ball past Foster. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, it looked like he had hurt himself in the process of scoring his goal. Thankfully for him and the Arsenal team, it wasn't too serious as he returned to the field of play soon enough. They had another chance before the break, as Nasri's shot flew at goal but was too close to Foster, who palmed the ball to safety.

Arsenal came close soon after the restart, as the over-lapping Bacary Sagna pulled back for Rosicky, who half-volleyed a shot narrowly past the post. Beausejour, who came on early in the second half for Craig Gardner, made an immediate impact on the game, as he gained possession from a slack Arsenal pass, and played the ball to Fahey. He hit a shot that rebounded back to him off teammate Zigic, and on second asking, the Irishman came ever so close to regaining Birmingham's lead, as his shot came off the upright and to safety. 

Robin van Persie seemingly did pick up a knock in the first half, as he was withdrawn on 70 minutes for Nicklas Bendtner. The game had started to open up, and a five-minute period with a flurry of chances for Arsenal ensued. Ben Foster was over-worked, as he made some brilliant saves from Rosicky, Bendtner and Nasri to keep Birmingham in the game. Marouane Chamakh came on for Andrei Arshavin, and new loan signing Obafemi Martins replaced Keith Fahey, as both managers looked to go all out for the win.

Arsenal were looking comfortable in possession and more dangerous in attack, but were caught by a sucker-punch, as Birmingham snatched a late winner with a minute of regulation time left. It was appalling defending from Koscielny and Szczesny that lead to the goal, as a long ball was flicked on towards the goal by the massive Zigic. The defender and goalkeeper had a complete lapse of communication, as both parties left the ball for each other before it bounced off Szczesny right into substitute Martins' path. The former Inter Milan and Newcastle man had the simplest of tasks, rolling the ball into the empty net to give Birmingham the late and decisive lead.

Martins had a couple of other chances on the break as Arsenal pushed in search of a late equaliser, but couldn't find the target. However, it did not matter, as the whistle blew five minutes into injury time to give an ecstatic Birmingham City their first cup win in nearly 50 years.

The win was well-deserved for Birmingham, as they played to their strengths and were tactically brilliant. On the other hand, Arsenal, who knew that they would be attacked with a barrage of long balls and crosses, couldn't deal with two, which led to their downfall. They would feel robbed, as they were the better team for most of the game, but came out on the losing side after a howler at the death, which kept up their trophy jinx, and possibly cost them their best chance at a title this season.

Wojciech Szczesny, who in recent times was having an inspired run in the Arsenal team, dropped the ball, as his last minute gaffe alongwith Laurent Koscielny cost the Gunners the win and the title. Nasri added to his credibility with another solid performance in an Arsenal shirt, while Robin van Persie continued his sparkling form, scoring his 13th goal in two months. However, Van Persie hobbling up the stairs to collect his runners-up medal would be a worrying sight for the Gunners' fans with a trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona looming large.

For the victors, Ben Foster's contribution was gargantuan, as he kept Arsenal out many a time with some brilliant saves. Ferguson and Bowyer had good games, and Zigic continued to prove that he was getting used to life in England, scoring his fourth goal in five games. Obafemi Martins, on loan from Rubin Kazan, did the trick late on, scoring an opportune goal and will go down in history as the man who won Birmingham the Carling Cup!

Teams :

Arsenal (4-2-3-1) - Szczesny, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Sagna, Song, Wilshire, Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin (Chamakh 77'), Van Persie (Bendtner 70')

Birmingham City (4-5-1) - Foster, Johnson, Jiranek, Ridgewell, Carr, Fahey (Martins 83'), Gardner (Beausejour 50'), Ferguson, Bowyer, Larsson, Zigic (Jerome 90')

Final Scoreline: Arsenal 1 - 2 Birmingham City

Arsenal Scorer: Van Persie 39'

Birmingham Scorers: Zigic 28', Martins 89'

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File Photograph Copyright: Ronnie MacDonald