The Road to Wembley was a rocky one with both Arsenal and Birmingham posed with potholes en route.
A game-by-game breakdown of how both sides reached the final
The Road to Wembley is often a rocky one but save for a blip in the semi-final first leg at Portman Road, potential potholes have been navigated with consummate ease by Arsenal. While Arsene Wenger's Gunners have been imperious in a competition traditionally used to bed a raft of young stars, Birmingham have made Wembley the hard way. The odd goal in five saw them dispense of Rochdale in the first round, while a penalty shoot-out was needed to see off Brentford in the fourth round. There was nothing fortuitous about their progression thereafter though as Aston Villa and West Ham were put to the sword en route to the capital showpiece.
ARSENAL'S ROAD TO WEMBLEY
Third Round (a) v Tottenham 21/09/10 - won 4-1 aet
Youngster Henri Lansbury gave Arsenal an early lead, but it took two penalties from Samir Nasri in extra-time for the Gunners to eventually see off arch-rivals Tottenham with a 4-1 victory at White Hart Lane - where, in a signal of intent, manager Arsene Wenger had named a surprisingly strong side.
Fourth Round (a) v Newcastle 27/10/10 - won 4-0
Theo Walcott cemented Arsenal's place in the quarter-finals with a fine double at St James' Park - and unlike later in the season's dramatic Barclays Premier League meeting, there was no amazing comeback from the Toon Army.
Quarter-Final (h) v Wigan 30/11/10 - won 2-0
The Gunners dominated against the Latics, going ahead through an own goal from Antolin Alcaraz before Nicklas Bendtner's close-range effort secured a comfortable win at Emirates Stadium.
Semi-Final First Leg (a) v Ipswich 12/1/11 - lost 0-1
Tamas Priskin fired npower Championship strugglers Ipswich - who had been thrashed 7-0 at Chelsea in the FA Cup and just replaced axed manager Roy Keane with Paul Jewell - to a deserved win over a strong Arsenal XI at Portman Road, after which Gunners skipper Cesc Fabregas hit out at the Tractor Boys' "rugby" tactics.
Semi-Final Second Leg (h) v Ipswich 25/1/11 - won 3-0
Arsenal needed an hour to breakdown the stubborn visitors - cheered on by some 9,000 travelling supporters - but eventually secured their spot at Wembley and the chance for a first trophy since 2005 with a fine individual goal from Bendtner, which was quickly followed by Laurent Koscielny's header and then a third by captain Fabregas.
BIRMINGHAM'S ROAD TO WEMBLEY
2nd Round - Birmingham 3 Rochdale 2
Birmingham's cup run got off to a decidedly shaky start when they found themselves a goal down to
League One side Rochdale. They recovered from that early setback with goals from James McFadden, David Murphy and Matt Derbyshire giving Alex McLeish's men a comfortable second half cushion. A second strike from Dale's Gary Jones made for a nervous last 15 minutes for the Blues, but they clung on and progressed to the third round.
3rd Round - Birmingham 3 MK Dons 1
The third round offered Birmingham another kind draw as they faced League One MK Dons at home. The Premier League side made light work of their opposition with three goals in four minutes from Alexander Hleb, Nikola Zigic and Craig Gardner putting Birmingham out of sight in the first half. Aaron Wilbraham scored a late consolation but Birmingham marched on.
4th Round - Birmingham 1 Brentford 1 (Birmingham won 4-3 on penalties)
McLeish's side made hard work of their fourth round tie at home to Brentford. The Bees, buoyed by their victory over Everton in the previous round, looked about to claim another Premier League scalp before a stoppage-time equaliser from Kevin Phillips cancelled out an earlier Sam Wood strike. Birmingham triumphed on penalties when Maik Taylor stopped Craig Woodman's effort in the shootout.
5th Round - Birmingham 2 Aston Villa 1
The Blues' fifth-round tie provided one of the flashpoints of the tournament so far. A home win against Villa was marred by ugly scenes involving opposing fans and a mass pitch invasion on the final whistle. A late winner from Nikola Zigic saw Birmingham progress after Gabriel Agbonlahor's strike had cancelled out Sebastian Larsson's opener.
Semi-final, first leg - West Ham 2 Birmingham 1
In a semi-final fought between two Premier League relegation candidates, goals from Mark Noble and Carlton Cole gave West Ham the upper hand, but Liam Ridgewell's 56th-minute strike gave the Blues something to take back to St Andrew's.
Semi-final, second leg - Birmingham 3 West Ham 1 (AET) - Birmingham won 4-3 on aggregate.
A heroic display from Craig Gardner saw Birmingham advance to their first league cup final since 2001. Carlton Cole's goal had seemingly put West Ham in command, but Lee Bowyer and Roger Johnson struck to send the tie into extra time before Gardner, who hobbled around for much of the second period, struck a long-range effort past Rob Green.
