It is difficult to know where to start with our 2007 League Cup final victory – Chelsea’s fourth time lifting the trophy and the last final to be played at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium before returning to the newly rebuilt Wembley (ironically it was also the first League Cup final played between two London clubs). Looking back, it seems a lot was squeezed into 90-plus minutes of cup final.

Perhaps with our No1, Petr Cech, who incredibly was named in the starting line-up for a cup final just four months after being stretchered off the pitch with a life-threatening head injury in a Premier League match against Reading.

It was a difficult start for the 24-year-old goalkeeper, now wearing the protective head guard which became iconic during his long Chelsea career, as Arsenal began the game on the front foot and at a high tempo.

Their first goal was especially rough on Cech, who had made a great save to deny Julio Baptista, only for Theo Walcott to score his first Arsenal goal from the resulting corner, weaving his way between experienced pros Ricardo Carvalho and Frank Lampard before giving the keeper no chance.

'We went 1-0 down quite early, but we knew how to turn things round,’ said Cech. ‘We equalised quite quickly and in the second-half, we played tactically well.

'I was really pleased with my performance. There were a lot of crosses to deal with and two chances. I really enjoyed this game, I was looking forward to it for a long time because of my injury.’

As Petr hints, we weren’t behind for long. No prizes for guessing who got our equaliser, as it seemed Didier Drogba just couldn’t help scoring whenever he faced Arsenal in a Chelsea shirt, and always had a habit of popping up on the big occasion, especially cup finals.

By the end of the day he would have four goals from two appearances against the Gunners at the Millennium Stadium. His first came as he narrowly sprung the offside trap and weighed up his options before finishing through Manuel Almunia’s legs.

The Arsenal defenders appealed for offside but the officials were unmoved, replays inconclusive and there was no VAR at the time anyway, so who cared, Chelsea were off the mark!

'I didn't turn to see the linesman because for me I was onside,’ insisted Didier. ‘I was waiting to pass the ball to Sheva but there was no space so I decided to take my chance.'

And that was it, in terms of goals, for a tight first 45 minutes in Cardiff, which was played at a furious intensity. Things were simmering nicely, though, and would start to boil over after the break.

It was actually during half-time itself that one of the match’s most significant moments came, when Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho decided to counter Arsenal’s midfield advantage with a tactical switch, by introducing pacey winger Arjen Robben to replace ball-winner Claude Makelele.

'In the first-half, playing with a midfield diamond, it was quite difficult for my players to get close,’ explained Mourinho.

'Fabregas, Denilson, Diaby, they were playing between our positions. In the second-half we focused three midfielders against three midfielders and Essien on Baptista because he was with a lot of freedom between the lines.

'We pressed them better. We had better control of the game and we had no defensive problems.’

Robben was clearly eager to make up for lost time after missing out on the starting line-up: 'You want to start games like this and that disappointment, you have to put it into positive energy and try to influence the game when you come on. I think I did that quite well. Our character has been our strength and we showed it again.’

Before the flying Dutchman’s presence was fully felt, the action was paused for a horrifying moment. Chelsea captain John Terry, who had passed a late fitness test to feature in Cardiff after an injury in the Champions League draw in Porto four days earlier, received a sickening kick to the jaw while throwing himself at a diving header in the Arsenal box.

There was no fault by Abou Diaby, clearly hitting Terry by accident while trying to clear, but the concern from both sets of players was instant, as they frantically urged the medical teams to rush to their assistance in the suddenly silent stadium.

Thankfully, JT was soon confirmed to have regained consciousness, but there was still widespread concern from his team-mates as he was carried off the field on a stretcher to be taken straight to hospital.

Needless to say, there was a spell when football took second place in people’s minds, even in a cup final, and the emotions of that long wait before the medical staff felt confident enough to move Terry will have been felt by Cech more than most, given the fractured skull he had suffered earlier in the season.

'For five minutes he was on the stretcher so I didn't feel really well and it reminded me of my injury,’ said Petr. ‘With head injuries you never know. Fortunately there were physios around really quickly.

'When you see the reaction of everyone around and all the physios running, you could see it was not an easy injury. I just tried to switch off from it all.

'There are a lot emotions because I knew if it was the same case as mine, how difficult it is to come back and how much you have to do. But already he had back consciousness when he was about to enter the tunnel and when you see him moving, after you feel fine.

'I told him later if you have some trophy for the iron man of the year, it is him because after the injury in Porto, he played, and this is the same, he is fine after!'

Even the usually unflappable Drogba admitted he was affected: 'We were all shocked because of what happened earlier in the season to Petr and Carlo [Cudicini].

'So when I saw that, I was scared. Then I had 10 to 15 minutes when I didn't know where I was, I was shocked, so it was difficult for me to keep playing. Then we tried to give more to win.’

It seems that even in his absence, our captain, leader, legend was inspiring his team-mates towards victory. We certainly had the advantage for the remainder of the 90 minutes.

The first solid sign that the momentum had shifted in Chelsea’s favour arrived when Frank Lampard thumped a viciously dipping shot against the crossbar, narrowly missing out on what would have been an absolutely brilliant goal from at least 30 yards out.

'I thought my shot was going to dip in but then when it hit the bar I was gutted,’ admitted Lampard. ‘But I thought it was a good sign because things like that lift the crowd.’

It certainly did, and the Chelsea end of the Millennium Stadium would soon erupt, when Drogba popped up for one of his classic winning goals with eight minutes left, getting across the front of his marker Philippe Senderos to power a header into the bottom corner from Robben’s excellent cross.

'I just ran past the defender and anticipated the cross,’ added Drogba. ‘When the cross is coming as fast as it came, it is easy for me to choose where I want to put the ball. When Robbie crossed, I knew I was going to score.

'It is always a big pleasure to score two goals in a final and important goals as well because we came back from one goal down. The second one to take the lead against a big team like Arsenal, it is always good.

'But it is not an individual satisfaction, it is a collective satisfaction, because today I don't think I was playing my best football. But I was there when maybe the team needed me and that's a good feeling.'

Perhaps unfairly, given the high-quality and fiercely contested cup final which had been on display in Cardiff for more than 90 minutes, much of the post-match media focus was on the moment in added time when emotions overflowed.

A melee resulted in red cards for Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi and Arsenal’s Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, as well as a retrospective ban later issued to Emmanuel Eboue.

However, Lampard was quick to play down the incident, insisting it was just a result of the Gunners’ frustration at losing the game and showed how much desire both sides had to lift the trophy, with the only surprising thing being the sight of Mourinho sprinting across the pitch to break things up and calm his team down.

'It stemmed from players wanting to win games and backing up your team-mates. Things happen like that and they escalate and now you sit down and say you wish they didn't happen, but people want to see a final where two teams wanted to win and that's what happened.

'It was a surprise to see the manager there, though. I didn't know he was that quick!'

After all of that, there was barely time for Cech to compound Arsenal’s frustration by confidently collecting yet another high-ball into the box, before referee Howard Webb blew for full-time and, in Terry’s absence, Lampard was able to become the fourth player to lift the League Cup for Chelsea.

'It feels nice to lift the trophy, John's done it before, but for me that's not what's important,’ added Frank. ‘What's important is all the lads being up there together and we have won the game.

‘Any silverware is special, getting that first trophy of the season is important, and there is nothing better than celebrating with our fans at the end of a game.'

There was one last surprise in store. Our captain, having discharged himself from hospital and looking only slightly worse for wear, arrived back at the Millennium Stadium to receive his medal and celebrate victory with his team-mates in the changing room, even if he didn’t remember all of it.

'I remember walking out for the second-half and nothing else until waking up in the ambulance on the way to the hospital,’ revealed Terry.

'I had the scan and they said it's okay. It was great to be back with the lads, they were different class. I was still feeling a bit groggy though.

‘I said thanks to the lads as I didn't have much part to play in the second-half. Throughout the competition they were spot on.'

Another trophy won and another chapter written in Terry’s Chelsea legend. We’ll leave the final word to the man who came on to set-up the winning goal, Robben, who spoke for all those in Blue that day in 2007.

'This cup is totally for JT.'