Carling Cup Final – Match Pack

Arsenal will be without captain Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) and Theo Walcott (ankle) against Birmingham, but striker Robin van Persie (hamstring) should return.

Centre-back Laurent Koscielny has recovered from a back injury, while midfielder Abou Diaby is available again after suspension.

Defender Thomas Vermaelen continues his recovery from an Achilles problem.

Former Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb is Birmingham’s major injury concernahead of the showpiece at Wembley.

The on-loan Barcelona player suffered a knee injury during the FA Cup fifth-round victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.

A scan has shown severe bruising as opposed to any serious ligament damage and Blues will monitor his fitness.

Central defender Martin Jiranek is available after missing the 3-0 win against the Owls with a thigh injury.

Striker Cameron Jerome is also expected to recover from the ankle setback sustained during that game.

On-loan Tottenham winger David Bentley and January signing Curtis Davies are both cup-tied.

MATCH FACTS

Nicklas Bendtner has scored six goals in his last seven Carling Cup appearances.

Arsenal have made the League Cup final on six previous occasions, winning just twice.

Arsenal have met Birmingham only once in the League Cup winning 4-1 after extra time & with Jason Crowe earning Arsenal‘s fastest ever red card.

Samir Nasri has scored in all three of his appearances against Birmingham City.

Birmingham have played two League Cup finals winning in 1963 and losing on penalties in 2001.

Birmingham have conceded the first goal in seven of their last nine Carling Cup matches and four of the six they have played this season.

Six of the eight goals that Birmingham have scored against Arsenal in the Premier League have been from set pieces.

Mike Dean was the referee when he sent off Martin Taylor for a tackle that broke Eduardo’s leg and awarded a controversial last-minute penalty to Birmingham in February 2008 in a 2-2 draw at St Andrews.

There have been four red cards in the last eight Premier League games between Arsenal and Birmingham and an additional charge and three match ban for stamping by Lee Bowyer in the last game on New Year’s Day.

Birmingham have scored the highest proportion of goals from set pieces in the Premier League (56%) while Arsenal have conceded the most (52%).

Arsenal are unbeaten in 11 games in all competitions and are the only Premier League side yet to be beaten in the league in 2011.

Robin Van Persie has scored five goals in his last three games in all competitions.