Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish says Arsenal‘s trophy drought will be on their players’ minds ahead of Sunday’s Carling Cup final.

Arsenal have not won a trophy since 2005 and McLeish fancies his side’s chances in the Wembley showdown.

“They haven’t won a trophy for five years so maybe that will be at the back of their minds,” McLeish said.

“They will see it as a massive opportunity as well, but we will try our best to win it.”

“They haven’t won a trophy for five years so maybe that will be at the back of their minds.”

“They will see it as a massive opportunity as well but we will try our best to win it.”

“We have the will and desire to go right until the end in football matches.”

“There is a lot of experience in our squad so the players shouldn’t be fazed.”

McLeish admitted Birmingham are the underdogs but suggested a fixture build-up for Arsenal could mean they are not at their best.

“It’s my first cup final in England and I’d love to win it,” he said.

“We know Arsenal are favourites but they have a bit of fixture congestion which might be on their minds a little bit.”

“The stadium will be half full of Birmingham fans whereas when we normally go down to London in the Premier League there are only a sprinkling of our supporters in the stadium.”

“It would be nice to win it with the formation and tactics we lay out before kick-off.

“At the same time, they have got to express themselves and play their own game.”

“It’s my job to pick the team I feel will win the Carling Cup.”

“I’m not influenced by what the media say or whether I like one player more than another.”

“I pick fairly every week and I’ve already decided the nucleus of the team, I just have to flesh it out a bit.”

Cameron Jerome has missed training but should be fit but Alex Hleb (knee) is a doubt.

Martin Jiranek has shaken off a knock and should be available.