Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits Sunday's trip to Manchester City "feels different".
The Gunners go to City top of the table.
Arteta said: "Yeah we had some clashes, in the FA Cup as well and in the Community Shield. It's all great experiences. They have raised the bar in this league and football in general to levels that haven't been seen before. That's the beauty of this sport because it makes you better and challenges you more. You have to keep up with that pace and that's what we're trying to do.
"Yeah it is different. The momentum is different. We had certain results and big injuries in that moment but those experiences are there to learn. Sometimes you just have to clap the opponent and that day it was the case. But we have to learn from it and challenge ourselves to be better."
On Pep Guardiola, Arteta said: "It had to change. My admiration and what I feel for him certainly hasn't. In my opinion he's the best coach in the world by a mile and he's one of the nicest people that I've met in football. Certainly he's one of the ones that I've had the most fun and laughter working with. That's gonna stay there forever. At the moment the rules are what they are and you're going to have to adapt to it.
"The level that we're facing is where we want to be. You have to make strong steps to be there and I think we've done big ones in recent seasons. We're getting much closer and now it's how we close that gap and try to be better than them.
"That's great but that's the competition. Same with Liverpool. They've earned the right to be considered an example. What they've done has been phenomenal to do what they have done consistently in this league. They have raised our standards and our demands to try to be like them and to beat them.
"I was just watching everybody walking in the building and I loved the energy, I loved their smiles and they were glad to be back. They wanted to train yesterday and the way they communicate and relate with each other every day is phenomenal. We have done a lot to be in the position that we are, but we need to go day by day, train well, prepare every match. We've done a lot to be where we are now we have to embrace that position and go for it."
