The latter was once part of the former's backroom staff at the Etihad Stadium, of course, but he will want to ensure that friendship is put firmly to one side on Sunday.
Title on the line at the Etihad
There's little doubt that the destination of the Premier League title is on the line in this game.
If City emerge victorious, they move to within three points of the Gunners with a game in hand, but if Arsenal head back to North London having won in the North West, they will surge nine points ahead, and will still be six points to the good even if that game in hand is won, with only five games remaining.
Arteta's side are unbeaten in their last five league games against City, and have only lost once in all competitions in the last seven against them, that defeat coming in the Carabao Cup final almost a month ago.
Before that run, however, City had won 15 of the 16 previous fixtures in all competitions, and are, in fact, unbeaten in the last 10 league meetings played at the Etihad, dating back to 2015.
Just one loss for City at home in 2025/26
Guardiola's swashbucklers have also lost just once at home in the PL this season, and that came against Tottenham. Since then, they've remained unbeaten, scoring at least twice in 12 of the 14 games played.
Ominously for Arteta, his Arsenal side have lost their last three domestic encounters, to City in the Carabao Cup final, to Southampton in the FA Cup and to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The last time they lost four in a row came back in 2018... and included an EFL Cup final defeat to City, and another loss to them in the league.
Eze and Cherki the creative hubs
The Spaniard may look to the talent of Eberechi Eze to unlock City's defence, given that he's either scored (two) or assisted (one) in each of his last three games against Sunday's opponents.
With Bukayo Saka out and Noni Madueke a question mark after being taken off against Sporting in the Champions League in midweek, all of the focus will be on Eze's performance and ability to stop the likes of Rayan Cherki running rings around Arsenal's midfield and defence.
The Frenchman is averaging an assist every 138 minutes in the current campaign, and of the players in the Premier League's entire history who have played over 1,000 minutes in a single season, only Cesc Fabregas (an assist every 111 minutes) and Kevin De Bruyne (an assist every 123 minutes) have a better average.
With just one goalless draw in the last six games between them, and with both teams at numbers one and two for goals scored this season (63 City, 62 Arsenal), there's a very strong likelihood that we'll see the net bulging at least once in this match.
Gyokeres has to come good
In terms of goals, Erling Haaland leads the way for City with 22 in the league, and the centre-forward has also had the most total shots (106) and the most on target (50).
At the other end of the pitch, Viktor Gyokeres' 12 are Arsenal's best return, though there do remain question marks over the Swedish international's all-round game. Against Sporting, for example, he touched the ball just 14 times in 55 minutes.
Saka remains the Arsenal player with the most shots (63) and the most on target (26), and it remains to be seen how much his expected absence will hinder the Gunners.
Perhaps one of the most surprising differences between the teams, given that the North Londoners are often compared with the Cityzens in terms of their style of play, is that Guardiola's side is miles ahead in terms of their passing.
A collective 18,292 passes made this season, with an accuracy of 89%, is the best in the Premier League in both cases. Arsenal lag behind with 15,107 passes and 84% accuracy, just the sixth and fifth best in the top-flight respectively, in 2025/26.
The visitors score (15) and concede (8) the most goals during the final 15 minutes of games, while the hosts have scored their most (19) in the 15 minutes before half-time and conceded their most (8) in the period just after the hour mark.
Both teams missing key players
Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard remain sidelined for the Gunners along with Saka, with Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber subject to late fitness tests and thus doubts along with Madueke.
For City, Nico O'Reilly's recovery from injury will have come as a big boost. The hero of the Carabao Cup final with both goals, he returns to a defence that is without John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
There's every reason to believe that this game will still be a classic.
Will Arsenal be closer to their first title triumph in 22 years at the end of it, or will Arteta have to field more questions about his side being 'bottlers'?
Let battle commence!
Follow Manchester City vs Arsenal with Flashscore.
