Carling Cup Final 2011: Arsenal Vs Birmingham City

[Clarky.]

When Tottenham won the Carling Cup in 2008 all my friends who supported Arsenal were saying it was a mickey mouse cup but now they are in the final and I say it to them they completely disagree

I still dont believe the Carling cup is a very prestigous cup to win, and would prefer the F.a Cup or CL, but the prolonged wait for silverware at Arsenal means were willing to accept anything. The Carling cup is still considered a major trophy albeit a less significant one.

Wengers 5 year trophy drought has made him take the competition more serious this year. His team selections this year widely differ from past years, and If you compare the Carling cup final vs Chelsea he played a very young team throught the whole tournement, this year although not a full strength squad you can easily see hes played very strong sides in most rounds.

Winning its more about the momentun we'll gain from it, which will hopefully in time see us win bigger and better things.

But in terms of calling it a 'mickey mouse' cup I still dont think its a good cup to win but after so long, I'll ****** take it.

 

[Scott]

Spot on. Fair play to birmingham, just buy a freak teach him how to use his feet then theyre sorted. I fancy birmingham because of route one to zigic, squillaci and kosceilny will be giving away numerous amounts of free kicks, and even a goal becauase of that lankey c**t, same person whos beaten us almost single handedly twice this season. 1 nil birmingham.. larsson free kick last ten minutes.

Oh a West Ham saying raging about anti football, Oh the brilliance of a team not out of the bottom 3 all season, but hang on, at least they try to play good football, Not 2 6 foot plus strikers upfront... Oh wait.

I repeat, cause you clearly missed i

 

[philly]

When Tottenham won the Carling Cup in 2008 all my friends who supported Arsenal were saying it was a mickey mouse cup but now they are in the final and I say it to them they completely disagree

It's still not a hugely important thing to win.

We are only desperate to win it because it gets the monkey of our backs and will provide a massive boost going in to the end of the season.

 

[Joss]

And Joss theres a difference to playing a team against Orient and a team you would play in other cup games. Obviously Orient your mroe confident you'd play maybe 1-2 stars if even that but in a game like this even if it was semi's or quarters you would still play half and half.

Well, not really.. The team we put out against Orient was the same team we've put out for most of our FA CUP games, he said half of the squad will be players from that side, and half will be from the First Team.

I don't know why I'm arguing about this.. You've misinterpreted Wenger because you haven't seen his interview (I assume), in which he clearly states what "half and half" is.

Arsenal fans don't care what trophy it is though it's not about the trophy, Its about winning that first piece of silverware in years which in turn they hope will bring them back success at Arsenal.

It's still not a hugely important thing to win.

We are only desperate to win it because it gets the monkey of our backs and will provide a massive boost going in to the end of the season.

According to new Opta stats, over the past 10 years the Carling Cup winner has enjoyed a 10 per cent increase in points over the remainder of the season.

If that works out, it means that the game against Utd in April at the Emirates could be the turning point. If we beat them there (and Utd keep their average points/game level), we would draw level on something like 81 points with Utd having a far more difficult run in, and Arsenal perhaps taking the momentum on to nick the league.

 

[ChippyLowe]

Begging for an Arsenal win here, I couldn't bare to live in the city if the Blues won.
It's too painful.

 

[Calum]

Arsenal will be without Theo Walcott, who sprained an ankle in midweek, for Sunday's Carling Cup final, which is live on BBC One from 1500 GMT. Cesc Fabregas is also ruled out, but Abou Diaby, Laurent Koscielny and Robin van Persie should be fit, with the Dutchman set to captain the side.
Birmingham will assess Alexander Hleb, who is nursing a bruised knee.
Cameron Jerome should overcome an ankle injury but David Bentley, Curtis Davies and Colin Doyle are cup-tied.

Arsenal
Doubtful: Diaby (calf), Koscielny (back), Van Persie (hamstring)
Injured: Fabianski (shoulder), Fabregas (hamstring), Frimpong (knee), Vermaelen (Achilles), Walcott (ankle)
Birmingham
Doubtful: Hleb (bruised knee), Jerome (ankle), Jiranek (thigh), Ridgewell (calf)
Injured/unavailable: Bentley, Davies & Doyle (all cup-tied), Dann (hamstring), McFadden (knee), Valles (foot)

MATCH PREVIEW
Arsenal fans who feel they are overdue silverware are likely to get short shrift from Birmingham supporters. The Gunners may have gone six years without a trophy, but their opponents have claimed only one major title in their 136-year history, winning the 1963 League Cup over two legs.

I don't think there is any malicious bad blood between the two [clubs]
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish

This will be Arsenal's first Wembley final since 1998. While Birmingham won the Football League Trophy at the old stadium in 1991 & 1995, Bluenoses will need slightly longer memories to recall the last time their side contested a major final there; it was 55 years ago, when Manchester City beat them in the 1956 FA Cup final despite goalkeeper Bert Trautmann breaking a bone in his neck.
Birmingham were certainly taking few prisoners that day, and Sunday's match could also be a bruising encounter, judging by recent meetings between the clubs. Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere was dismissed at the Emirates last October for a reckless lunge at Nikola Zigic, while the reverse fixture saw Blues' Lee Bowyer stamp on Bacary Sagna, an incident which saw him belatedly given a three-match ban.
This will be the second of five games Arsenal must play in the space of 14 days, the last of which is a daunting trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona. Blues boss Alex McLeish is also worried about his side's fixture congestion. If the Scot could get Blues to reproduce their cup form on a weekly basis, survival would be quickly assured; City have won eight of their nine cup games this term but only six of their 26 top-flight matches.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Arsenal won the only previous League Cup meeting between the sides; they progressed 4-1 (after extra-time) at Highbury in the third round in 1997.
• The Gunners are unbeaten in their last eight games against Blues (W5, D3).
Arsenal
• The Gunners have scored 13 times and conceded twice in their five League Cup games this season.
• Arsenal have lost four of their previous six League Cup finals.
• Arsene Wenger has taken charge of eight major cup finals as Arsenal manager, winning four. He has lost the last two (against Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League final and Chelsea in the 2007 Carling Cup final).
Birmingham
• Blues have not kept a single clean sheet in their last nine League Cup matches, conceding a total of 13 goals.
• Their last shut-out in the competition was a 4-0 home win against Wycombe in August 2008.
• Six of the eight Premier League goals Blues have scored against Arsenal have come via set-pieces. Opta stats show they have scored the highest proportion of Premier League goals from dead-ball situations this term (56%), while Arsenal have conceded the most (52%).
• The last time Blues kept a clean sheet against a side from the same division in a League Cup game away from St Andrew's was in August 1992 (against Exeter).

LEADING GOALSCORERS

Arsenal
Nasri: 14 goals (2 in League Cup);
Van Persie: 13 goals (0 in League Cup)

Birmingham
Gardner & Zigic: 7 goals (2 in League Cup)

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistant referees: Ron Ganfield & Mike Mullarkey
Fourth official: Kevin Friend

Latest video highlights

Wednesday 26 January
Birmingham 3-1 West Ham

Tuesday 25 January
Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich

 

[Matty]

Kayyy serr rarrr serr rarr whatteverr will bee will bee were going too... you all know where were going

Leaving shortly for the captial

Come on you BLUES BOYS, do us proud, wear that shirt with pride!!

KRO!!!

 

[*Jamess*]

Come on arsenal can't wait till kick off

 

[DMF]

Hate Cup Final day at Wembley no matter who's involved.. they always close off my road meaning I can't go anywhere! XD

 

[Aneil14life]

Great op i must say

Predicition: brum take lead 1-0, arsenal come back 2-1, brum score late goal in normal time 2-2. In ET Arsenal score first and then brum come back in 2nd half of ET, goes 2 pens and brum win

As a united fan i would love to see this, + i can win £150 if brum win
if arsenal lose, i want to see the fans - faces will be priceless , how long will the wait be then? LOOL

 

[DMF]

In a way I want Arsenal to win, just for the fact that if they lose - this thread will get closed within minutes of the game ending because of rival fans and others taunting them about another year (possibly) without a trophy.

Either way, it's a win win for me.. but I'd love to see Brum win it!

 

[philly]

Pretty pumped for this. Not as much as the Barca game though which is kinda weird given this is a final.

On at 5 in the morning (stupid time difference) so I will probably get a few hours sleep before it. When we win I then have all day to celebrate though

 

[glennspb]

I completely forgot about this match overshadowed by the liverpool game in my mind :L joke! Hope to see a birmingham win today go on the blues!

 

[Aneil14life]

Its the carling cup and arsenal fans are loving it like its the champions league.

but then for a team that aint won a cup for 5+ years i can understand

 

[hellroker]

Hate Cup Final day at Wembley no matter who's involved.. they always close off my road meaning I can't go anywhere! XD

Same here, when I used to stay in London XD

 

[DMF]

Its the carling cup and arsenal fans are loving it like its the champions league.

but then for a team that aint won a cup for 5+ years i can understand

Don't start with that stuff already. The game hasn't started and it's already been spoken about on previous pages about why they want to win it.

Just leave it at that.

 

[Aneil14life]

A little bit of banter wont kill anybody

this is a memroble day for arsenal fans tho, they must be buzzing.

 

[Jamie92]

Hmm, this threads OK, I guess

 

[DMF]

My prediction -

Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham.

Brum to take a shock early lead, but Arsenal to get comfortable and Nasri to equalise before a screamer from RVP/Arshavin seals it.

Wilshere to pick up MOTM.

 

[westham234]

Are you? XD sorry couldn't resist...

Werent aimed at you..