Alex McLeish hoisted the Carling Cup
Birmingham City defeated Arsenal at New Wembley Stadium Reuters

The drought has ended for Birmingham City.

The Blues are the 2011 Carling League Cup winners after a wild finish at New Wembley Stadium, in a 2-1 victory over powerhouse Arsenal.

A goal by Obafemi Martins, after a communication error between defender Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, proved to be the winner, and the first League Cup for Birmingham since 1963.

In one of the most demoralizing losses in recent time for Arsenal, the fans and players at New Wembley Stadium stared in disbelief, knowing they've lost the opportunity to hoist the trophy after mainly dominating the match.

Birmingham's Cup victory comes at the expense of an error by Koscielny and Szczesny who didn't handle a routine ball. With Koscielny attempting to clear the ball, and with Szczesny charging in, neither player ultimately trapped the ball, and Martins was able to drive home Birmingham's second goal.

Serbian striker Nikola Zigic got the scoring started in the 28th minute for the Blues who had multiple chances the entire evening. Off a corner kick, Roger Johnson delivered a header and Zigic did a header of his own that found the back of the net to put Birmingham ahead.

Forward Robin van Persiie equalized for Arsenal in the 39th minute after midfielder Jack Wilshere hit the cross bar which led to an Andrei Arshavin cross that found the Dutch striker, who ripped a right-footed volley past Ben Foster.

The Birmingham goalkeeper had an excellent match. Particularly noteworthy was his diving save to prevent Samir Nasir's shot from finding the back of the net.

But the story of the match is the mix up that led to Martins's goal. It's unclear if Szszesny called off Koscielny, or if the defender didn't follow directions. Koscielny pulled his leg back to avoid clearing it. The ball hit Szszesny's hands, and when he wasn't able to control it, Martins was just waiting fortunately to put it in the open net.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish lifted the trophy up with jubilation, the first piece of silverware for Birmingham in decades.

It was a stunning victory for underdog Birmingham. Blues' fans have been waiting for this for quite some time, and to defeat a team like Arsenal in the Cup Final makes it all the more sweet.

Manager Arsene Wenger now needs to have the Gunners pick up the pieces and move on. They are still in the hunt for the Premier League title, trailing Manchester United by only four points. Arsenal face Barcelona at Nou Camp in Champions League action on March 8.

The Gunners were missing Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott on Sunday night. Clearly, Wenger needed both players.

But this is Birmingham's day.

Winning the League Cup makes this a season to remember for the Blues.