Many players spent brief periods with Birmingham on loan from other clubs. Some were young players gaining experience: Michael Carrick went on to play more than 300 Premier League matches and Sigurd Rushfeldt became the Norwegian Tippeligaen's all-time top scorer. Other loanees had an established career but were not needed by their owning club: Nigeria international Obafemi Martins scored Birmingham's winning goal against Arsenal in the 2011 Football League Cup Final before his loan spell was cut short by injury.