Old friends become foes as Arsenal legends Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira face each other as managers for the first time

They stood side by side for club and country over a decade ago, winning just about every trophy there was to be won, but on Wednesday evening, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will put their playing pasts behind them as they go head to head as managers for the first time.

The Arsenal and France legends will clash this evening when Henry's Monaco host Vieira's Nice in a Mediterranean derby on the Cote d’Azur, just over a month after the game was due to take place but postponed amid the "gilets jaunes" protests against the French government.

Both men are in their first season managing in Ligue 1 but it is Vieira, 42, who goes into the match with the upper hand, thanks to his experience and Nice's superior position in the table, whereas Henry has had a difficult start to life in his first top job.

Thierry's tough start

Arsenal's record goalscorer, 41, has been thrown in at the deep end with Monaco. He returned to the club at which he started his career in a romantic reunion, although there has been little of a honeymoon period since as the team have struggled to escape from the relegation zone.

Monaco have been in dire straits all season and to say they were a shadow of the side that won Ligue 1 and reached a Champions League semi-final in 2017 would be an understatement.

Having repeatedly sold their best players, they are quite literally a different team. Last summer they cashed in on Thomas Lemar, Fabinho and Joao Moutinho, adding to the previous summer's departures of Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva, Tiemoue Bakayoko and, of course, Kylian Mbappe.

Leonardo Jardim was sacked in October with the club sat 19th in the league, having failed to win since the opening day of the season – and, despite some signs of improvement, that is where they still remain.

Jardim had also been hampered by injuries to key men such as Stevan Jovetic, Danijel Subotic and Willem Geubbels, and problems on that front worsened after Henry took charge.

They remain without at least eight first-team players, although their injury crisis has eased since the lead up to Christmas when Henry was forced to turn to youth players.

It is not only problems on the pitch that have seen Monaco descend into chaos. Their Russian billionaire owner, Dmitry Rybolovlev, was questioned by Monaco prosecutors in November in connection with a corruption probe relating to a dispute with Geneva art dealer Yves Bouvier. He has denied wrongdoing.

Vieira's upper-hand

There are no such concerns a dozen or so miles down the French Riviera at Nice. By contrast, Vieira has enjoyed a good start at his new club.

Unlike Henry, he is in his second management role, having impressed during two years at New York City. Before that, he cut his teeth in a spell with Manchester City's development team.

Vieira had the benefit of being involved in the transfer window and pre-season preparations following his appointment in June. The club sit eighth, just four points off fourth place, and are battling for a place in Europe next season, which for a team of Nice's calibre is as high as they could hope for at the moment.

The former France captain led his team to seven games unbeaten toward the end of last year and has shown tactical know-how by deploying a 5-3-2 formation that has achieved the second best defensive record in the league behind PSG.

He has also been faced with the unenviable task of man-managing hot-head Mario Balotelli, who wanted to leave in the summer and is yet to score this season.

Back to being rookies

Henry will go into the game with the still-unfamiliar feeling of being an underdog, but despite a torrid start to life in Ligue 1, he finally picked up a couple of league wins prior to the mandatory Christmas break as well as progressing to the French League Cup semi-final last week after a penalty shoot-out win over Rennes – signs that improvements are being made.

On the limited evidence available so far, Vieira looks the best equipped to become a successful manager. He has accumulated more experience and understanding of what it means to be a leader in the dressing room, having captained Arsenal for several years, including for their unbeaten season of 2003-04.

But Henry has shown for some time that he is passionate about this next stage of his career, taking up coaching roles in the Arsenal academy and then with the Belgian national team. Clearly, he still has plenty to learn, but he has shown a determination to succeed rather than settle for a pundit's pay cheque.

When the pair meet again on Wednesday night, they will have to leave their legacies behind them. What they achieved in their playing days will count for little as they sit in adjacent dugouts at Monaco’s Stade Louis II, but as the pair begin a new chapter together, it could be the start of a long and illustrious battle between old comrades.