London: Arsenal moved within one win of ending its six-year silverware drought by beating Ipswich in the League Cup semifinals on Tuesday, and manager Arsene Wenger hopes it will be the catalyst for lifting more important trophies.
Arsenal beat second-tier Ipswich 3-0 to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit, setting up a League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on February 27 against either West Ham or Birmingham, who meet Wednesday with the Hammers holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.
The League Cup sits fourth on the priority list for Arsenal, behind the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, and Wenger usually deploys his youngsters.
However pressure has been steadily building for Arsenal to win a title, having not claimed a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, so the League Cup was being taken more seriously this season.
Wenger's about-face on giving importance to the competition came after the sustained pressure from some fans. It is also a trophy the Frenchman hasn't won since joining Arsenal in 1996.
"It can get the pressure off the team to deliver in the other competitions," Wenger said. "It's not only a target in itself. We have bigger targets, but it can help us as well to achieve the other targets."
The Gunners have won the League Cup twice, beating Liverpool in 1987 and Sheffield Wednesday in 1993. The League Cup final next month will be their first final at Wembley since 1998, having won the 2005 FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is desperate to win the League Cup for the fans.
"It is going to be a very difficult final but we will do our best, because the fans deserve a trophy again," he said.
Arsenal were on the brink of elimination after losing the first leg to Ipswich. The Gunners were also held scoreless for an hour Tuesday, putting fans on edge. Arsenal was also dealt a setback early on in the first half, when defender Bacary Sagna had to be substituted after a clash of heads with the team's goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny. Sagna was later taken to a hospital with a concussion.
In the 61st minute, Jack Wilshere launched a pinpoint long ball, finding Nicklas Bendtner unmarked on the left. The striker darted into the area and turned a defender before curling a shot past the Ipswich goalkeeper in the 61st minute to level scores on aggregate.
Laurent Koscielny then scored from a corner three minutes later to put Arsenal ahead 2-1 over the two legs. and Fabregas sealed the win in the 77th.
"For us, it's a perfect night," Wenger said. "I feel that we have an opportunity to win one (a trophy). We will go with the same heart for everything."
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