Carling Cup Final: Chelsea v Arsenal

So, here we are, the last cup final (we hope) to be played in Cardiff. And what a game it should be. That's right it's Chelsea v Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final. This competition has been known as 'The Worthless Cup' in the past, but suddenly, from an Arsenal point of view at least, it has become an important part of the season. Yep, this is the first League Cup Final to be played under Wenger. But what makes it special, is Le Boss' policy of playing a mixture of youth and fringe players in the competition. And these lads are something special.

The 'Arsenal B Team' have done wonders this season, so let's recap on their journey to The Millennium Stadium. Firstly The Gunners travelled to The Hawthorns, where young French striker, Jeremie Aliadiere netted a brace in a game which Arsenal dominated, finishing in a 2-0 win. Then they went to Goodison Park, the home of Everton. The Young Guns left it late, but deserved the 1-0 win after Emmanuel Adebayor headed home with 5 minutes left on the clock. This was followed by an extraordinary game on the other side of Merseyside. Mr Wenger's side prodced one of the best performances in the club's history, a tremendous 6-3 victory over Liverpool at Anfield. Aliadiere opened the scoring and then went on to play a huge part in the win. Robbie Fowler equalised minutes later, before Julio Baptista's sublime free kick flew past the keeper. Alex Song and Baptista again scored to give the visitors a 4-1 lead at the interval. The Gunners came out strong in the second half, too. Baptista saw his penalty well saved, but did complete his hat-trick by firing past Dudek from 25 yards, after Aliadiere set him up brilliantly. Goals from Gerrard and Hyypia gave the home side some hope, but Baptista netted his fourth and Arsenal's sixth to kill the game off. Then they travelled to White Hart Lane, the home of fierce rivals, Tottenham. An early goal from Berbatov was followed by Baptista putting the ball in his own net, giving Spurs a 2-0 lead and a mountain for Arsenal to climb. But the Brazilian made amends, by netting two at the right end in the second half, to give The Gunners a slight advantage going into the second leg at Ashburton Grove. Emmanuel Adebayor gave Arsenal the lead before a late equaliser from Mido sent the tie into extra time. But goals from Aliadiere and a Chimbonda own goal put them into the final.

So it was a rollercoaster ride to get to the Millenium Stadium, but can The Gunners pull off a win against the Premirship Champions? Well, Arsenal have a boost knowing that John Terry is out and Arjen Robben faces a fitness test. Justin Hoyte also faces a late fitness test afer missing the Champions League defeat at PSV. Chelsea will be playing their strongest possible team, so Arsene Wenger's wonderkids face a really tough test.

Team Predictions:
---------------------------------Cech---------------------------------------
Diarra----------------Carvalho---------Essien-----------------------Bridge
-------------------------------Makelele------------------------------------
----------Mikel----------------Ballack--------------Lampard--------------
--------------------Shevchenko-------Drogba------------------------------

--------------------Aliadiere----------Adebayor---------------------------
------------------------------Baptista-------------------------------------
Diaby------------------------Denilson-----------------------------Walcott
Traore-------------Djourou------------Toure-----------------------Hoyte
------------------------------Almunia-------------------------------------

Score Prediction:

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

Scorer: Walcott