Arsenal face Manchester City in a crunch Premier League fixture on Wednesday with the Gunners sitting five points ahead of their rivals, though defeat at the Etihad Stadium will mean Pep Guardiola's side move to within two points with two games in hand.
Regardless of the result, Pires – winner of two league titles with Arsenal – believes their progress should still be celebrated as they continue on an upward trajectory since Arteta's appointment.
"Arsenal are becoming a great English club again," he said, speaking to Le Parisien.
"They're fighting for the title and rediscovering their DNA – playing beautiful football, one which also allows us to see young talents to emerge, like Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
"It's everything that Arsene Wenger put in place when he arrived at the club. He wanted people to be inspired by him and play beautiful football.
"These days, Arteta, who played under him before becoming Guardiola's assistant, has managed to bring that back. Arsenal are back up on their feet and that's why I like watching this team play.
"You can compare their style of play to that of Lens or Marseille in Ligue 1 – these are teams that constantly attack. Of course there are weaknesses, but this tendency to attack is what we want to see more of in football."
Arsenal are winless in their last three games after draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, while City remain unbeaten in their last 16 in all competitions.
Arteta's men are set to be without influential centre-back William Saliba through injury, with Pires adamant that squad depth may ultimately hinder Arsenal's title charge.
"That's the main difference between the two squads," he said. "City's is much deeper and more powerful than Arsenal's. Mikel Arteta has often played with the same 12 or 13 players.
"They're a younger team, they have less experience, and that can be difficult when you have to go and get a title. The last two months are difficult. Everyone keeps telling you that you're going to win, there's tension, you're more and more nervous. You can get tripped up."
The annual MLS All-Star Game sees a squad made up of players from across the league come together to face an opponent.
For the last two years, the MLS All-Stars have played a Liga MX All-Stars team, with the team from the United States' top tier emerging victorious on both occasions.
However, the 2023 edition will see the MLS All-Stars return to playing a European club, with Arsenal appearing in the exhibition event for a second time.
The Gunners beat an All-Stars side that included Andrea Pirlo, Kaka, Didier Drogba and David Villa 2-1 in San Jose in 2016.
This year's match will be held at Audi Field in Washington, D.C, with England's joint-record goalscorer Rooney – who coaches D.C. United in MLS – set to take charge of the All-Stars.
"I've had a front-row seat to watch the growth and development of Major League Soccer, first as a player and now as a manager," said Rooney in a statement.
"The opportunity to lead the best our league has to offer against a top Premier League club like Arsenal will be a highlight for me personally and an unforgettable experience for our passionate fanbase here in D.C."
Mikel Arteta said: "It's great that we're playing against the MLS All-Stars in Washington D.C. in July.
"Our US tour [in 2022] was very good preparation for the season, and we're looking forward to once again visiting our amazing supporters in the US. The match against the MLS All-Stars will be a good test ahead of the 2023-24 season."
On July 18, 10 Arsenal players will also go up against 10 MLS players in the Skills Challenge, which will again be held at Audi Field.
Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with 10 games remaining, while Rooney's D.C. United are 11th in the Eastern Conference in MLS with four points from as many games this season.
Xhaka looked set for the exit after he was stripped of the captaincy in November for reacting angrily to supporters who jeered him when he was substituted during a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace the previous month.
The 27-year-old was also dropped from the squad for five matches, but he won back his place and, eight months on, is a regular member of the starting line-up again.
Arteta last week praised Xhaka for winning over the fanbase with his displays on the field, but the former Borussia Monchengladbach star admitted he seriously contemplated leaving.
"Everyone knows what happened with me and the fans - or the fans with me. It was not a good time. It was not a nice time," he told BT Sport.
"But maybe it was the key because I came back stronger than ever, so I learned a lot from this situation. I hope the fans have too.
"I was always saying to myself, but to the fans too, I am a guy that will go 100 per cent each game. The people start to understand me more and more now again.
"I have to be honest, I'm very honest with everyone. I was very, very close to leaving the club. I had, until this moment, had a great, great time in this football club.
"But after this, I was of course a bit down because I did not expect that from the people, from the fans.
"It was never in my mind to leave the club before, but after this happened, of course you think about it."
Switzerland international Xhaka has credited Arteta, who succeeded Unai Emery a little under two months after the incident, for turning around his career in north London.
"When Mikel arrived, I had a very good meeting with him, very good conversations," he said.
"Mikel was the guy. He turned me around and gave me a second chance, and he showed me he trusted me and I have tried to give him everything back."
Arsenal take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday with Arteta seeking his first piece of silverware in management.
And after picking up victories over the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in the past few weeks, Xhaka has praised the Spaniard for improving the team's fortunes.
"Since Mikel came to this club a lot of things have changed," he said. "He has changed the mentality, the spirit, not only for us players, but in the group.
"Everyone knows exactly what their job is. We have a clear gameplan.
"He prepared us really well against a lot of good teams and yeah, at the moment, it's like we are back with happiness. Coming to training with happiness, we do amazing work."
