How unfortunate that Sunday's capital showdown - tagged 'The
Snarling Cup final' in Monday's morning papers - will be remembered
for the dark arts rather than Arsene Wenger's youngsters'
bewitching display.
The 60 seconds of injury-time in which chaos erupted in Cardiff -
resulting in red cards for Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and John
Obi Mikel - should not be allowed to overshadow what was a cup
final of the highest quality - with the enduring image being a
landmark display from Arsenal.
From the off, the young Guns exuded a fearlessness and confidence
that even their senior colleagues lacked on their trip to Stamford
Bridge earlier in the season, and their youthful exuberance could
well have overwhelmed The Blues in a thrilling first half.
It is remarkable that Cesc Fabregas - still just 19 but with a
World Cup behind him - was the senior man in Arsenal's front six
and the Catalan duly delivered with his usual brand of prescient
passing.
Whilst Denilson lacked the spark that had accompanied his
performances against Liverpool and Tottenham in previous rounds,
Abou Diaby and Jeremie Aliadiere both contributed heavily to a
fluid and incisive performance that evoked the senior team in its
pomp.
However, it was Theo Walcott - at a reported £12million the most
expensive of Wenger's young recruits - who truly came of age,
capping a fine outing with his first senior goal for The
Gunners.
The unassuming teenager turned into a raging bull after producing a
Thierry Henry-esque finish after 12 minutes, and his display hinted
that he could well be a big game player - a title that has so
frequently been used to taunt his captain.
Not all of the fledglings impressed of course, and if Wenger's team
selection could be questioned then the decision to include Philippe
Senderos was surely puzzling given his abysmal track record against
Didier Drogba.
The Ivorian ghosted in front of Senderos to head his second, and
the winning, goal to cap another match-winning display and
underline his psychological hold over the Swiss stopper.
At left-back Armand Traore was more Marc Overmars than Nigel
Winterburn, with his defensive limitations exposed by substitute
Arjen Robben, and his inability to deal with pace and trickery
would have been no surprise to those who saw his panic at facing
Aaron Lennon in the semi-final.
However - at 17 the youngest player on the pitch - the latest
Frenchman to roll off the North London production line still did
enough to suggest that extra training with Steve Bould could see
him emerge as a viable rival to Gael Clichy.
Ultimately though, experience won the day as Chelsea triumphed
thanks to the excellence of Petr Cech in goal and the clinical
efficiency of Drogba as the striker claimed his 27th and 28th goals
of a remarkable season.
Jose Mourinho witnessed top earners Michael Ballack and Andrei
Shevchenko fail to produce the goods again, but the deep yearning
for success within his side secured their second Carling Cup in
three years - a fact acknowledged by the Portuguese boss: "They
[Arsenal] have a great coach, great players, but football is about
winning and the cup goes to us."
The question of whether Wenger can imbue his side with a similar
winning mentality will be key to whether his class of 06/07 will
graduate into Premiership winners in the future, but, at the final
whistle, Mourinho clearly had a lot more to worry about than John
Terry's injury.
His Premiership hegemony may well be broken by Manchester United
this season, but Arsenal's Carling Cup side - with a average age of
21.6 years to Chelsea's 27.1 - did more than enough to suggest that
a further challenge could emerge a lot closer to home in the coming
years.
Did Arsenal's youngsters prove they are up to the task? Have your
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