1,518 days without elimination: Why do Guardiola and Man City love the Carabao Cup so much?

The last time Manchester City were eliminated from the Carabao Cup, Barack Obama was still the President of the United States, the Apple iPhone 7 had just been released and Jose Mourinho was in the opposition dugout as manager of Manchester United.

An extraordinary run of success for City means that you have to go back four years, one month and 26 days, to Wednesday, 26 October, 2016, for the last - and only - time that Pep Guardiola was knocked out of the competition.

Just 10 weeks into the Catalan’s reign, a youthful City starting line-up that featured 11 players that are no longer with the Etihad Stadium outfit were beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Since then, Guardiola’s side have won the competition in three straight seasons, and are now just three wins away from again lifting the trophy as they aim to become only the second club to win the League Cup on four successive occasions.

Part of the reason for their sustained success is that, while many of City’s rivals feel forced into fielding weaker line-ups so as to deal with the difficulties of the modern English football schedule, Guardiola has consistently taken the tournament seriously regardless of his side's other commitments

The 49-year-old has an unquenchable urge to win every game he plays, with no trophy less important than any other.

“There is not one opponent that can say they faced one of my teams - Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Barcelona - and we didn’t try to win,” he said before last season’s final victory over Aston Villa.

“It takes courage and bravery to try to win all the time.”

Guardiola also believes that early silverware within a season can give players the momentum to go and claim more glory, just as they did in 2019 when the Carabao Cup proved to be the first towards them winning an unprecedented domestic treble.

Like most non-English managers, Guardiola even views the Community Shield as the first significant trophy of the season despite it being seen as little more than a glorified friendly by most fans and pundits.

The majority instead insist that the Carabao Cup is the real first honour available, and Guardiola been sure to lay down an early marker by landing it on a consistent basis while other clubs seemed content to have their feet up when the quarter-finals and two-legged semi-finals came around during the busy winter months.

“This is the only country that in February you can win a title,” he said after the 2019 triumph, though this season's final has now been pushed back to April. “I think [it's good] for the mood.”

Though Guardiola has generally fielded strong teams in the competition, he has also taken the opportunity to blood young academy prospects that he believes have a genuine chance of breaking into his first-team on a regular basis.

Phil Foden, for example, scored his first-ever goal for the club as an 18-year-old in the third round win away to Oxford United in September 2018, and his progression was perfectly illustrated after he was named Man-of-the-Match in last season’s Wembley final.

In total, 16 academy players have featured in the past three-and-a-half seasons, though it has always been alongside a combination of more senior team-mates.

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This season’s third-round clash with Bournemouth came at a time when City had been depleted by injuries, positive Covid-19 test results and a lack of a true pre-season.

And so while 17-year-old striker Liam Delap marked his first-team debut with a goal alongside five other players who had worked their way through the club's youth ranks, they were helped out by the presence of experienced heads Kyle Walker, Rodri and Riyad Mahrez.

A week later in the fourth-round victory over Burnley, boyhood City fan Cole Palmer made his first start for the club in a team that included Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, among others.

That commitment to the competition is why City have come through their last 21 matches with 20 wins - albeit four came via a penalty shootout - with the only defeat coming against United in last season's semi-final second leg when they had already comfortably won at Old Trafford.

It is also why Guardiola will field another strong side for Tuesday night’s quarter-final clash with Arsenal, despite a mixed opening few months in the Premier League that has again seen them playing catch-up to leaders Liverpool.

While his former assistant Mikel Arteta will be desperate for a victory to ease the pressure following the Gunners’ recent disastrous form, the City boss will be looking for a positive result for entirely different reasons.

Carabao Cup success has energised his side in the past, with two league titles and an FA Cup collected on the back of their three previous triumphs.

There remain strong opponents left in this season’s competition, not least Arteta’s Arsenal, who knocked them out of the FA Cup back in July.

Few, though, would bet against City and Guardiola picking up the trophy for a fourth successive year come 2021.