25/02/2007  Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
 
Three players were sent off as Chelsea came from behind to win the Carling Cup for the second time in three years - but skipper John Terry was not around to lift the trophy after being taken to hospital following a sickening kick in the head.

In front of watching England boss Steve McClaren, Terry was knocked out cold as he took the full force of Abou Diaby's boot in the face as the pair challenged for a loose ball in the Arsenal box just before the hour mark.

Terry swallowed his tongue during the drama, which left Diaby in tears, before he was eventually carried off on a stretcher with an oxygen mask helping his breathing.

Although he was revived before leaving the Millennium Stadium, Terry will now undergo extensive tests before being allowed to play again.

The injury overshadowed an amazing game, in which Didier Drogba hit his 27th and 28th goals of the season after Theo Walcott had put Arsenal ahead, but ended in the sourest manner imaginable with a mass brawl which Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger tried to break up.

Mikel Jon Obi and Kolo Toure reacted to their punishment by simply removing their shirts. Emmanuel Adebayor was less gracious and had to be hauled off as he continued to vent his fury at referee Howard Webb.

With Frank Lampard and Cesc Fabregas also booked, the Football Association are sure to launch an investigation.

Certainly, there was no shortage of incident, and any suggestion Wenger devalued their competition by fielding his youngsters can be rejected too.

In fact, to see Arsenal's kids buzzing around the Millennium Stadium with no sign of big-match nerves was a total joy.

In Diaby and Fabregas, the Gunners boast a pair of fresh-faced midfielders capable of carrying them to glory for the next decade and their speed and movement was initially too much for a Chelsea outfit, whose experience was about the only thing that kept them in the game.

Walcott did most of the work himself to open the scoring for Arsenal, shuttling back to pick up the loose ball after Chelsea had half-cleared a corner. Walcott then continued his run after laying off a pass to Diaby, collected the return and skipped past an otherwise immaculate Ricardo Carvalho before delivering a precise finish.

Rarely since Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge have Chelsea been subjected to such torture. But what they lack in flair, the Blues make up for in efficiency.

Drogba should have been flagged offside when he collected Michael Ballack's astute chipped pass. But once he had gained the benefit of the decision, the striker never looked likely to fail and assuredly smashed home his 28th goal of an incredible season.

Drogba's efforts should have given Chelsea the platform to assert their authority. Instead, the plucky Arsenal lads refused to buckle and contributed fully to a sustained period of committed cut and thrust, which can to an abrupt end with Terry's sickening injury.

For six minutes, the Chelsea medical staff attended to their captain, whose bravery was exemplified by his willingness to play in Cardiff despite suffering a serious ankle injury in Porto on Wednesday.

Arsenal and England physio Gary Lewin was also on the scene.

Understandably, the game lost its spark for a while afterwards. It took Frank Lampard's thunderous 25-yard strike to bring it back to life, the England midfielder shaking the crossbar with Manuel Almunia beaten.

With young legs starting to tire, from then on it seemed just a matter of when, not if, Chelsea would get their winner.

And, when Arjen Robben drifted over a cross from the left, there was little surprise either that Drogba should be the man who muscled his way in front of Philippe Senderos and glanced the decisive header into the bottom corner.

Arsenal had seven minutes' worth of injury time to try to fashion an equaliser.

Instead, all a capacity crowd got was a ugly 14-man brawl, which brought both managers onto the pitch and left referee Howard Webb in an unenviable position, which he eventually resolved by brandishing three red cards.