Sunday's late-afternoon stroll on to the Wembley surface will mark the end of an 11-day period in which they will have played in each of the four competitions. They remain on course in each, but not without cost. The high of beating Barcelona in the Champions League was followed by a crashing down to reality with a draw at Leyton Orient, while a vital league win against Stoke City saw significant collateral damage.
Birmingham City will feel relief at not facing either Theo Walcott or Cesc Fabregas, who both departed early on Wednesday. Walcott's sprained ankle rids him of the chance to put on a show at Wembley, a place where he has enjoyed mixed fortunes. Fabregas' absence is less definite but unlikely in the face of Wenger's focus on frying bigger fish.
In Birmingham, he faces a familiar foe, and one with whom he has a testy relationship. The scars of Eduardo's multiple fracture at St Andrew's are yet to heal in more ways than one. Martin Taylor may now be a former Blues player but the legacy of his ill-timed tackle three years ago is still one of enmity. Alex McLeish mounted a stout defence of his charge then and has never wavered from his opinion since.
And McLeish's team play a style of the type that can antagonise Arsenal's aristocratic air of self-entitlement. That will be the underdogs' aim. This is a team of experience, and battle-hardened too. The likes of Lee Bowyer and Barry Ferguson may be long in the tooth, but are big on snarls too, and both have played at the highest of levels. Captain Stephen Carr won this trophy in 1999 as a Tottenham player, and will be keen to repeat the experience.
And the Scot is no stranger to showpiece occasions; having led Rangers to five cup triumphs while a manager north of the border. Indeed, his last major honour came in 2005, a date that rankles with Arsene Wenger too. That was his last lifting of silverware, over in Cardiff after a successful penalty shoot-out wrested the FA Cup from Manchester United. This season has seen him alter his usual approach to this competition, his selection of a group of definite first-teamers against Tottenham in September alerting to a change in focus when before he had used the quest for the third-most important domestic bauble as a chance to play his younger players.
Indeed, in the 2007 renewal of this day, his team's last final, Wenger stuck with a young team of which only Manuel Almunia, Fabregas, Walcott, Abou Diaby and Emmanuel Eboue remain at the club from his squad of 16. He has a far stronger squad now, and is likely to be able to blood players of a higher quality here while still being able to keep powder dry for the battles ahead.
Arsenal player to watch - Samir Nasri
With Fabregas highly likely to be offered only a watching brief, focus will shift to the Frenchman who has often outstripped the Spaniard as Arsenal's leading light this season. Nasri has already shone at Wembley this year; in November he pulled the strings as a new-look France team passed England to death. He is recovering from his own injury problems and looked rusty against Barcelona, only to spring into life and play a leading role in a grandstand finish. The Gunners will look to such an ability to straddle the big occasions.
Birmingham player to watch - Nikola Zigic
Well, you could barely miss him, could you? He may even begin the game on the bench, but it is unlikely that McLeish will not make use of a player who provides a question that Arsenal have not always been able to answer down the years. The Serbian is still considered as work in progress by his coaches, despite being past 30, but has the attributes to cause problems to a soft-centred central defence. While Johan Djourou is rapidly becoming the key man in that area for Arsenal, Laurent Koscielny has looked far more assured on the European stage than against what can be politely termed the "British" style.
Key battle: Robin van Persie v Ben Foster
The Dutchman looks to have seen off the challenge of Marouane Chamakh to be Arsenal's chosen leader of the line, and has been protected ahead of this game. Two goals against Wolves and that snap-shot against Barcelona reflect a recovery of form and confidence that was jolted by injury for over a calendar year. Ben Foster will have to be on his guard against a striker who likes to hit the ball early, and will hope not to be caught out in the manner Victor Valdes was at the Emirates. The goalkeeper returns to the scene of his greatest triumph. Two years ago he was Manchester United's hero in a penalty shoot-out to defeat Spurs in the final and will hope to repeat a performance that gained him the status of a likely England mainstay, which he has squandered since and faces a long road to recover.
Trivia
Birmingham City's only major trophy was their winning of this competition in 1963. The final was an all-Birmingham affair and fought over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The first leg at St Andrew's saw the Blues beat Aston Villa 3-1, with goals from Ken Leek and Jimmy Bloomfield and then come away from Villa Park with a 0-0 draw. The winning manager was Gil Merrick, one-time England goalkeeper after whom a stand is named at St Andrew's.
Source: John Brewin, ESPN Soccernet on 27 Feb 11
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