Blues expose Gunners’ shortcomings

IF YOU had told Arsene Wenger back in the summer that his side would miss out on the Carling Cup this season, the Arsenal manager would not have lost much sleep.

But there is some tossing and turning in store for the Frenchman, with the reverberations of yesterday’s Wembley failure threatening to derail yet another promising season.

But as Wenger surveys the wreckage of this latest disappointment, Birmingham will deservedly celebrate their triumph with fervour — Arsenal’s six-year wait for silverware is dwarfed next to Birmingham’s 48 years of hurt.

But this is a results business and that is exactly what the Arsenal fans demand.

Before the match, Wenger spoke of his “extreme desire” to lift a trophy this season and that desire is still unfulfilled.

Yes, Arsenal are well placed in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, but history suggests bouncing back from such disappointment is easier said than done.

Wenger had intimated that lifting the Carling Cup would provide his side with a crucial boost ahead of such a daunting run-in.

And, when asked whether this defeat would have the opposite effect he was unequivocal.

“Exactly, we don’t deny that,” he said gravely. “It’s a massive disappointment for the team but we have massive challenges ahead of us.”

Most worryingly for Wenger is that he’ll have to face those with his team still riddled with their age-old problems.

Their centre looked softer than ever when Nikola Zigic nodded the opening goal home from a yard out with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny flapping.

And the 20-year-old Pole was again at fault for the winner, he and central defender Laurent Koscielny failing to handle a Zigic flick-on which allowed Obafemi Martins to gleefully roll the winner into an empty net.

There were shades of Arsenal’s last visit to Wembley, when another of their young goalkeepers, Lukasz Fabianski, let his concentration slip in the 2009 FA Cup semi-final, rushing out to meet Didier Drogba only for the striker to round him with ease and score Chelsea’s winning goal.

That was the keeper’s 24th birthday and the prelude to a series of more costly errors in the Premier League, which contributed to Arsenal’s failure to lift the title.

Until yesterday, Fabianski had been well and truly usurped by Szczesny, who looked like a new breed of Arsenal goalkeeper, almost incapable of error.

But Wenger must now decide whether to keep faith with the 20-year-old rookie — especially with that trip to the Nou Camp looming large.

“We face a lot of questions after that mistake tonight but we have to be strong enough to stand up,” said Wenger.

“I think it was a lack of communication and a lack of determination as well. Like always, when the ball is in no man’s land somebody has to take responsibility. These sort of things are part of the game.”

Strangely, Birmingham’s recent history shows a penchant for spoiling promising Arsenal seasons. In February 2008, Arsenal were flying at the top of the Premier League when they travelled to St Andrew’s. But, after just three minutes, striker Eduardo was carried off on a stretcher with a broken leg that would keep him out for a year.

Although they went behind that day, Arsenal rallied with a Theo Walcott brace, but with the crowd urging them to “win for Eduardo”, Wenger’s side surrendered their lead late on with James McFadden converting a crushing stoppage-time penalty.

That trip to the Midlands provoked a worrying run, in which they won just once in eight games. Eventually they finished four points behind Manchester United.

And it was a similar story for the Gunners at St Andrew’s last season. Ironically, it was a last-gasp mistake from another of their goalkeepers, Manuel Almunia, which allowed Birmingham to equalise.

Again Wenger’s side failed to bounce back from the body blow and their title challenge petered out in embarrassing fashion.

Now, as he tries to lift his troops from such a devastating defeat, Wenger admits they are beginning to feel the strain of a putative quadruple challenge.

And worringly for Arsenal, Robin van Persie is facing a spell on the sidelines after injuring his right knee by scoring Arsenal’s 39th-minute equaliser.

The manager said: It took us a while to get our rhythm. We lost Walcott and Fabregas on Wednesday and physically we had a disadvantage because of the number of games we have played.”

Birmingham, in contrast, looked fresh and started with real verve. McLeish had rested most of his stars for their FA Cup trip to Sheffield Wednesday a week ago and it showed.

McLeish labelled the result as his “greatest achievement as a manager,” but, like Wenger, the Blues manager is already looking ahead.

Just two points above the relegation zone, Birmingham’s run-in looks daunting, but, crucially, they will be buoyed by this Wembley excursion.

A Midlands derby against West Brom is to follow, and the emphasis on victory is so great that the club will not officially celebrate their Carling Cup glory until after that clash.

But, that said, it promises to be a long week in Birmingham, as the blue half of the city revels in one of the greatest results in the club’s history.

Wenger’s week promises to be just as long, but for all the wrong reasons.