Ahead of their Champions League meeting this week, Valverde paid tribute to his coaching counterpart.
"He is one of the best coaches in the world, for sure. What he is doing at Arsenal proves it," said Valverde.
"It's not just about the players he has, but how they play, their attitude and how they press. They don't let you play and are consistent in every duel.
"It's clear that when you face one of the teams that can win the tournament, or the Premier League, you have to be very careful and take your chances. We know what we have in front of us."
He added, "You have to play a perfect match to show your strengths and try to minimize what they can do to you. We recently faced them in pre-season and know roughly how they play and what level they are at."