Birmingham striker Obafemi Martins insists he has never scored an easier goal than the last minute tap-in at Wembley that stunned Arsenal and gave his new club their first major trophy since 1963.
Obafemi Martins has only been at Birmingham for one month and yet he is already guaranteed to be remembered as a Blues legend after the Nigerian punished a disastrous error by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to seal a shock 2-1 victory over the Gunners in Sunday’s League Cup final.
When the former Newcastle United star returned to the Premier League on loan from Rubin Kazan just before the close of the January transfer window, he couldn’t have imagined such a dream start to life back in England.
Martins came on as a substitute late in Sunday’s match, which looked destined for extra-time until Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny’s miscued attempt to clear startled keeper Szczesny into fumbling the ball straight to the striker, who had the simple task of slotting into the empty net.
After celebrating with an extravagant back-flipping somersault, Martins almost scored again but his 90th-minute goal was enough to secure Birmingham’s first significant silverware since they last won this trophy nearly 50 years ago.
“I have scored a lot of important goals but since I was at Inter this is the most important because it won a trophy,” Martins said.
“I think this is the easiest goal I’ve ever scored in my career and it’s very important.
“I’m glad I scored and I’m glad we won. I think it was my second touch.
“The gaffer (Alex McLeish) said to me that I would come on in the second half, so I think he did it right. It means a lot to the fans and players, we really needed this trophy.”
Martins admitted he was shocked to see the ball fall at his feet but his instinct for goals had brought him to the right place at the right time.
“The chance came and I took my time. Sometimes as a striker you just have to be there. You can never tell what might happen,” he said.
“It is not an easy prospect playing Arsenal. The team did well to get to the final, I’m happy I scored for myself and my team-mates.”
Martins had opened his goalscoring account for Birmingham in his previous appearance – an FA Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday – and now he is looking forward to a return to Wembley in that competition.
McLeish’s side face Bolton in the quarter-finals on March 12 and Martins said: “We will see what happens in the FA Cup, there is chance of getting to the final, although I don’t want to say we can win that one as well.”
There to stay?
Martins’s loan spell at Birmingham expires at the end of the season but it is hard to imagine the St Andrews’ faithful will let McLeish allow him to leave after this.
“We will see what happens. I just want to be with the team and try to score goals,” Martins added.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger challenged his shattered players to bounce back from their final heartbreak at Wembley.
Wenger insisted his team had the character to recover after squandering a golden chance to end the club’s six-year trophy drought.
“It’s a massive disappointment for the team but we have massive challenges in front of us,” Wenger said.
“The League Cup is four or five games. The Premier League is 38 games. We will not throw 38 games away because of one game.”
Arsenal, who remain second in the Premier League behind Manchester United, have only a brief respite before entering a two-week period which could ultimately define their season.
The club have an FA Cup fifth round replay against Leyton Orient tomorrow before resuming their Premier League campaign against Sunderland next weekend.
They then face a daunting trip to Barcelona for their Champions League last 16 second leg match, before a possible FA Cup meeting with Manchester United the following week.
Last 10 League Cup finals
2002: Blackburn vs Tottenham - 2-1 - Millennium Stadium - 72,500
2003: Liverpool vs Man. United - 2-0 - Millennium Stadium - 74,500
2004: Middlesbrough vs Bolton - 2-1 - Millennium Stadium - 72,634
2005: Chelsea vs Liverpool - 3-2 - Millennium Stadium - 78,000
2006: Man. United vs Wigan - 4-0 - Millennium Stadium - 66,866
2007: Chelsea vs Arsenal - 2-1 - Millennium Stadium - 70,073
2008: Tottenham vs Chelsea - 2-1 - Wembley Stadium - 87,660
2009: Man. United vs Tottenham - 0-0 (Man. United win 4-1 on penalties) - Wembley Stadium - 88,217
2010: Man. United vs Aston Villa - 2-1 - Wembley Stadium - 88,596
2011: Birmingham vs Arsenal - 2-1 - Wembley Stadium - 88,851
Best performers in competition: Liverpool – seven-time winners; Aston Villa – 5; Man. United – 4; Tottenham – 4; Chelsea – 4; Notts Forest – 4.