English League Cup Final/ Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2: To Chelsea the trophy, to Arsenal the future.

That division of spoils might have seen the victors celebrating and the young losers still feeling satisfied with themselves after an English League Cup final that entertained and excited for 90 minutes. The stoppage-time fracas, however, sullied the match. Arsenal are left to prepare a response to likely FA charges, but in private they must also ask hard questions of themselves.

Chelsea were no paragons in this affair. The substitute Mikel John Obi tugged on Kolo Toure's jersey and, even though exasperated, the priority of Toure and his team, at 2-1 down, ought to have been to restart play. As Arsenal captain, the centre-half had a responsibility to bear that in mind, but could not suppress his rage.

He and Mikel were dismissed by the referee, Howard Webb, for their part in the ensuing melee, as was Emmanuel Adebayor. Though the striker may yet claim mistaken identity in the incident, in which Wayne Bridge sprawled on the turf, his refusal to leave the pitch until physio Gary Lewin escorted him to the tunnel summed up the breakdown in Arsenal's self-discipline.

Those lapses seemed all the more peculiar in a team who had such shining grace about them for much of the afternoon. Arsenal should have been leaving Cardiff with only compliments on making this an exceptional final. As was inevitable in view of the opposing philosophies, they were by far the more attractive side, even if that simply compelled Chelsea to show even more resolve than usual and twice tap that reservoir of goals, Didier Drogba.

Most had predicted that domination would pass to the older, battle-hardened team as the day developed, but the situation of Jose Mourinho's men might have been irretrievable by then. Almost overwhelmed by the slick speed of Arsenal, they had to deal with the loss of their captain, John Terry, who was rendered unconscious as Abou Diaby accidentally booted him in the head in clearing after 57 minutes.

Adversity, though, is stimulating for Chelsea. Ricardo Carvalho, at fault for the opener though he was, epitomised that trait in his positioning and immaculate tackling. Against the fluently rampant Arsenal of the first half, the centre-back was destined for acclaim or notoriety. By the close the Chelsea supporters cherished him more than ever.

Theo Walcott was entitled to feel for a while that this day would be the key to open the adult phase of his career. The 17-year-old's first goal came when he chased a lax clearance, turned, exchanged passes with Diaby and lifted a finish high past Petr Cech in the 12th minute.

Shortly before that the Czech goalkeeper had tipped behind a 25-yard shot by Julio Baptista, and there were more saves to follow. For a while the main effect of Arsenal's inexperience was to leave Chelsea looking superannuated. The passing and movement of Arsene Wenger's line-up then were all too much for them, although a lack of a true finisher meant that the damage to Chelsea was mostly limited to a wounded dignity.

The self-belief came through unscathed. With 20 minutes gone, Michael Ballack lifted the ball to the right and Drogba was kept onside by the trailing foot of Philippe Senderos before he went through to shoot past a tentative Manuel Almunia. The gradual transformation of the final was in progress.

Arsenal waned and their bar was to be struck by Frank Lampard, with a 25-yard shot, and Andriy Shevchenko in the second half. The balance of power was also tipped by Mourinho's astute replacement of Claude Makelele with Arjen Robben. He needed the Dutchman to disrupt a lively Arsenal by compelling them to spend more time covering and tracking back.

Robben steered the exact cross for the winner that flew over Toure and was headed in powerfully by Drogba with six minutes remaining. The Ivorian had got himself in front of Senderos and the attacker continues to be a one-man blight on the career of a defender who could otherwise feel happy with his developing status.

Drogba now has 28 goals to his credit in this campaign and so far he has been able to treat Chelsea's dependence on him as an honour. Should his spirits sink at some stage in the season, the side's effectiveness might decline as well.

It is therefore vital to Mourinho that Shevchenko regains the habit of scoring frequently. The Ukrainian contributed spasmodically yesterday and is not yet a central figure.

Still, Chelsea have the English League g Cup as well as a reinforced determination to take the other three tournaments still open to them.

If times really have been hard, it is a crisis for virtually everyone else to envy.

CHELSEA: Cech, Diarra, Terry (Mikel 63), Carvalho, Bridge, Makelele (Robben 46), Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Shevchenko (Kalou 90), Drogba. Subs Not Used: Hilario, Ashley Cole. Sent Off: Mikel (90). Booked: Essien, Carvalho, Diarra, Lampard. Goals: Drogba 20, 84.

ARSENAL: Almunia, Hoyte, Toure, Senderos, Traore (Eboue 66), Walcott, Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby (Hleb 68), Aliadiere (Adebayor 80), Julio Baptista. Subs Not Used: Poom, Djourou. Sent Off: Toure (90), Adebayor (90). Booked: Denilson, Eboue, Fabregas. Goals: Walcott 12.

Referee: H Webb(S Yorkshire).

• Guardian Service