Toure was at Arsenal between 2001 and 2009, playing 37 times in the Invincibles season of 2003/04.
In 2009, he made the move to the Etihad Stadium and was immediately made club captain before playing his part in the 2010/11 FA Cup and 2011/12 Premier League successes.
Fewer people are better placed to comment on this year’s title race, which looks set to be between his two former clubs.
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Arsenal currently sit top with 51 points from 21 games but City know we can return to the summit with victory on Wednesday.
While Toure is happy to see Mikel Arteta’s side back in contention for English’s football’s biggest honour, he believes Guardiola’s knowhow could prove pivotal for City.
“Arteta has learnt from Pep and knows all about his tricks and tactics. That will help Arsenal a lot but at the same time, Pep is the master,” he said.
“He has shown that time and time again in every country and during his time in England. No matter the skills of his players and his opponents, he always finds different solutions to make his team play better. He is such a tough manager to face.”
Since Toure’s move north almost 14 years ago, Arsenal have failed to mount a sustained title challenge.
However, with less than half of the 2022/23 campaign left, he insists they are changing that this year but that City have the ability to bounce back.
“I am seeing Arsenal in great form right now,” Toure stated.
“Arteta is doing a really good job there, they have the right spirit and the players are working really hard. Every game it shows the intensity that they have in training and because of that they can repeat it in the games.
“With City, we always know the talent of the players and Pep will be very important in the second half of the season.
“There are still a lot of games to go but I think these two teams are the best right now and it will be close come the end of the season.”
While the Blues have not enjoyed a perfect season so far, we are still to play Arsenal twice in the league this campaign. Wednesday’s meeting is the first of those before the Gunners visit the Etihad Stadium at the end of April.
Those matches may go a long way to deciding the outcome of this year’s title race and as we have done in recent seasons, Toure is confident City will get better as spring approaches.
“Experience helps you in the crucial moments,” he continued.
“I believe that the closer we get to the end of the season, City’s experience will help them a lot to keep going.
“Arsenal have a lot of young players and that can help them as well because sometimes when you have young players they are fearless and the pressure does not get to them.”
Wednesday’s encounter is sure to be star-studded and Toure believes there are several players on both sides who could make the difference.
He said: “All of Arsenal’s team is really strong this season but Partey and Odegaard are very important in the middle.
“Saka is key too, he can put defenders on the back foot with his pace. Each team has at least five or six players through the team that are crucial.
“Erling Haaland is one of those for City and he has made a huge impact this season while Riyad Mahrez is playing some of his best football at the moment.
“Jack Grealish is back to his form now that he seems to be settled at City. He knows what Pep wants from him and that is important for attacking players especially.”
Arsenal v City
City travel to Arsenal on Wednesday for a 19:30 kick-off and you can follow the game across mancity.com and our official app.
We will start live updates at 17:30 on our Matchday Centre and that will run throughout the evening.
Our Matchday Live programme will begin shortly before team news arrives at 18:30.
Toure is the star guest for that one with Steve Howey and Paul Dickov also in the studio to give you a City-centric view on events in North London.
During the game, Alistair Mann and Michael Brown will talk you through proceedings via our radio commentary offering.
Afterwards, we will bring you all the reaction from North London before short highlights and extended highlights are available from midnight.
CITY+ subscribers can watch the entire 90 minutes back from midnight.
