Arsenal's League Cup final nemesis Obafemi Martins has had an eventful career

When Obafemi Martins stunned Arsenal with a late winner in the 2011 League Cup final, the Nigerian was already some way into a stories career.

However, that strike for Birmingham City at Wembley was far from the end for the Nigerian, who had close to a decade of top-flight football left in him.

The former Newcastle United man is one of only a handful of players to score goals in the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga, and those aren't the only top divisions where he has made his mark.

Here, Mirror Football takes a closer look at what Martins has been up to ever since he capitalised on a defensive mix-up to break Arsenal hearts and win Birmingham City their first silverware of the 21st century.

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When Martins arrived at St Andrew's on loan from Rubin Kazan in January 2011, the hope was that he would score the goals to keep Alex McLeish's side clear of the drop.

He netted twice in his first six games - once in the FA Cup and once against Arsenal at Wembley - but suffered what would end up being a season-ending injury in March.

That meant he missed the run-in, when five defeats from the last six games saw Birmingham relegated by a single point, with no other team going down with more than their 39 points in the decade since. Naturally, the Blues didn't exercise their option to buy.

Back to Russia, then, but only for another year. Rubin fell short of Champions League qualification, with Martins mostly on the fringes, and the striker left for Levante in 2012.

"It is not right to say that I will score a certain number of goals, but I am here and I hope to score many," Martins said upon moving to Spain.

He didn't take long to get off the mark, scoring a late winner on his debut as Levante came from behind to beat Real Sociedad, before scoring the only goal of the game in a derby win against Valencia.

The former Inter Milan man ended the campaign with seven league goals and nine in all competitions, to go along with the 28 he scored in Serie A, a further 28 in the Premier League with Newcastle and six for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.

However, despite the impressive start, Martins left under a cloud after Major League Soccer side Seattle Sounders met his release clause and took him to the United States.

"When a player does not want to wear the Levante jersey he does not wear it," Levante president Quique Catalan said at the time, with Martins making clear his desire to leave Ciutat de Valencia.

"We had decided not to facilitate the move, but the release clause money was paid. It is the best thing that could have happened, because the player showed he did not want, or deserve, to wear this jersey.

"We have acted like the serious club we aim to be, and not Martins nor anyone else is going to mess around with this club."

The 'Designated Player' rule in MLS has had mixed results, with a number of big-name players flattering to deceive while taking home a healthy pay packet, but Martins was one of the success stories.

Seattle had never won the Supporters' Shield - awarded for topping the regular season table - before the Nigerian's arrival. However, his 17 goals in the 2014 season were enough to ensure Sigi Schmid's team finished three points clear of the chasing pack while also lifting the US Open Cup.

Martins also featured in that season's MLS All-Star game, playing 45 minutes in a victory over Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich, and continued his impressive form into the 2015 season.

"I love playing with Oba," strike partner Clint Dempsey said in 2015.

"He's one of the players I've enjoyed the most playing with in my career because it reminds me of being a kid playing pickup style, just thinking alike and knowing that if you make the right run, he's going to find you.

"He makes players better around him."

By the time he left the Sounders, Martins had 40 MLS goals to his name at a rate of better than one every two games. Oh, and the famous celebration was still there.

In 2016, five years after that strike at Wembley, Martins joined the influx of former Premier League players moving to the Chinese Super League.

He joined Shanghai Shenhua, joining former Newcastle frontman Demba Ba and ex-Inter Milan midfielder Freddy Guarin, however injuries hampered his progress after a solid first season and he left the club amid hamstring troubles before returning for a second stint.

Martins was reportedly taking home six figures per week during his time in China, first with Shenhua and later with Wuhan, for whom he scored just once in the 2020 season.

While he hasn't played since leaving Wuhan more than a year ago, the Martins name looks set to live on in football, whether for Obafemi or for his eldest son.

Kevin Maussi Martins is following his father's lead, joining Inter's youth setup after a spell on the other side of the city with AC Milan.

The teenage forward has been getting off the mark for Inter's under-17 side, and if he gets anywhere near his father's career achievements he'll have done alright.