How seriously did Arsenal take the Carling Cup last season?
A 4-1 victory against Tottenham in the Third Round, Arsenal’s biggest win at White Hart Lane for 32 years, answered that question resoundingly.
Arsène Wenger shifted from his policy of blooding younger players in the competition for the mouthwatering trip across north London and fielded a line-up packed with first-team experience.
Henri Lansbury opened the scoring and two Samir Nasri penalties plus an Andrey Arshavin strike secured an emphatic away win in extra time after Robbie Keane's equaliser.
Newcastle were brushed aside in the next round after Tim Krul’s bizarre own goal had given Arsenal the advantage on the stroke of half time. Theo Walcott doubled the lead not long after the break and Nicklas Bendtner’s stunning third settled matters.
Walcott added a fourth late on as the Gunners strolled into the Quarter-Finals for the eighth successive year.
An Antolin Alcaraz own goal and Bendtner’s sliding finish were enough to see off a resilient Wigan on a bitterly cold night at Emirates Stadium and book a Semi-Final spot on a relatively untroubled route to the last four.
Wenger’s boys were handed a two-legged tie against Championship side Ipswich, the kindest draw on paper, for a place at Wembley.
An easy passage to the Final then? Most definitely not.
Cesc Fabregas led a star-studded side at Portman Road but an out-of-sorts Arsenal suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat thanks to Tamas Priskin’s breakaway goal.
Indeed, in the dying minutes, Carlos Edwards might have doubled that advantage only for Wojciech Szczesny to come to his side’s rescue. An intervention that would prove vital.
Ipswich continued to frustrate in the first half at Emirates Stadium before a moment of brilliance from Bendtner sparked a storming comeback to send Arsenal to Wembley.
The Dane’s wonderful curling strike settled the nerves on the hour and then goals from Laurent Koscielny and Fabregas sparked jubilant scenes.
Birmingham were now the only obstacle between Arsenal and a first trophy since 2005.
Fabregas and Walcott picked up injuries against Stoke in the week leading up to the Final to rule them out of the showpiece. That set the tone for more misfortune at Wembley.
Robin van Persie had to be withdrawn after injuring himself in the act of scoring and a last-gasp defensive mix-up put paid to hopes of Carling Cup glory in heartbreaking fashion.
Source: Giuseppe Muro, Arsenal.com on 1 Jun 11
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