Arteta was a key part of Guardiola’s coaching team for more than three years before leaving his role as number two last December to take over as Arsenal manager.
Wednesday’s Etihad encounter will be the first time the pair have met as opposite managers and, speaking at his pre-match press conference, Guardiola said Arteta would be armed with his own unique insight into the City squad.
“Mikel knows perfectly the way we feel, the way we want to play, and he knows every single player, their strong and their weak points,” Guardiola reflected.
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“He has more info about us than I have on the Arsenal team. That’s normal. We worked a huge amount of hours together and thoughts and ideas, solving problems before, during and after the game.
“Especially he knows the individual quality of the players. He knows exactly the way we love this game and the quality of the players. In those terms, I can imagine a little bit what he thinks, but I’ve not been in the locker room since he became a manager and I do not know the players.”
