Amidst brawl, Drogba keeps a cool head

The match was stopped twice though in the second half, with Terry being carried off on a stretcher in a neckbrace after being accidentally kicked in the face and knocked unconscious.

A final which had produced plenty of entertaining football was later marred by a fracas sparked by Arsenal’s captain for the day Kolo Toure and Terry’s replacement, Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Both sides were drawn into the melee, while Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger came onto the pitch to try and calm things down.

Toure, Mikel and Arsenal’s Togo substitute Emmanuel Adebayor were all sent off as a result of the scenes, which were a far cry from the vibrant start to the game.

Despite fielding a young side with just two first-team regulars in Toure and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal made a remarkably assured start and twice threatened to carve Chelsea’s defence open before Walcott struck.

The teenager latched on to a forward ball from French midfielder Abou Diaby and steered his shot coolly past keeper Petr Cech.

Premier League champions for the past two seasons, Chelsea hardly flinched at the setback and were soon on level terms. Germany captain Michael Ballack curled a clever pass over the offside trap and Drogba had time to tee up his shot before rifling the ball beneath the advancing keeper Manuel Almunia.

Mourinho added more incision to his side by replacing French holding midfielder Claude Makelele with Dutch winger Arjen Robben for the second half.

The action stopped when Terry stooped to head a loose ball and took the full force of Diaby’s attempted clearance in a sickening clash. Players of both sides immediately beckoned medical staff and the captain, who looked to have been knocked out cold, was eventually taken off with an oxygen mask and a neck brace.

As play restarted, Chelsea were dangerous as Frank Lampard cracked a dipping shot onto the crossbar with Almunia off his line and beaten.

Drogba then settled it when he rose ahead of Philippe Senderos to meet Robben’s pinpoint cross from the left with a glancing header into the bottom corner.

Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko then smashed one against the bar before the game turned into chaos with the injury-time brawl.

Lampard praised in-form Drogba, telling Sky Sports: “He’s special, he’s the best in the world at the moment.

“He does it week in, week out and on the big occasions.”

–Trevor Huggins