The Gunners' quest for a first trophy in six seasons continued after a terrible mix-up between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and centre-half Laurent Koscielny gifted Birmingham substitute Obafemi Martins a last-minute Wembley winner to send the Blues into Europe. After Szczesny should have been given a red card for fouling Lee Bowyer inside the opening moments, but was saved by an incorrect offside flag from the assistant referee, Nikola Zigic headed Birmingham in front on 28 minutes. Robin van Persie - who would later go off with a knee injury which could yet rule the Dutch striker out of the Champions League trip to Barcelona - equalised, but the Arsenal rally never came as they failed to make the most of second-half possession and were denied by some fine saves from Ben Foster. It was, though, no more than the Blues deserved following a battling display as Arsenal, without injured captain Cesc Fabregas and England winger Theo Walcott, once more failed to deliver when it mattered most. Wenger accepted the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, with Koscielny and Szczesny "destroyed" in the dressing room afterwards. However, the Gunners boss will expect full focus for the FA Cup fifth-round replay against Leyton Orient at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, and then again when they look to keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United with the visit of Sunderland on Saturday before heading out to Spain. "It is a massive disappointment for the team, but we have massive challenges in front of us," said Wenger. "The Carling Cup is four or five games, but a championship season is 38. We will not throw 38 games away because of one game. "I am confident we have the character and this is a good opportunity to show it. "We have to be proud of our attitude, continue with our belief, pick ourselves up and face the other challenges we have. "We will face a lot of questions after that mistake, but we have to be strong enough to stand up. "It is a good opportunity to show that we have the mental strength to respond to the situation."
