The Ukraine international played a big part in our recent years of success, winning 10 trophies including four Premier League titles before moving to the Gunners in the summer.
Zinchenko was given a warm welcome back when he returned with Arsenal in January in the FA Cup fourth-round clash which City won 1-0.
He was also seen sharing a joke with his team-mates at full-time and Guardiola says he remains loved and respected throughout the Club.
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“Everybody is in love here with him, he was an important figure in our club,” the boss said ahead of Wednesday night’s clash.
“What I liked with Oleks was in the first years we wanted to move him because we thought he wouldn’t play much but he said ‘no I will fight for my position’. I said: ‘Oleks it’s difficult. I have many players in your position at number 10’ but he said ‘no I am going to play here’.
“He trained really well, never a bad face, always good behaviour and normally when you don’t play sometimes they say I don’t want to do it but he was the opposite. Staying extra time in the gym working.
“And for the circumstances of life with a lot of injuries in one position and the way we wanted to play at full-back. He took the opportunity like it was his last chance in the world. That means he is a good player and has a good mindset.
“Then what happened with Arsenal, Mikel [Arteta] knows him very well because they worked together and he believed in this to try to make our process in build-up a little bit better. I’m happy for him. It’s going well.”
Watch the second half of Pep’s press conference in the video above…
