Henry, who began his professional playing career at Monaco, has returned after the club sacked Leonardo Jardim.

He said he "re-learned how to play the game" under Guardiola during his time at Barcelona a decade ago.

"Pep is the reference, for me," Henry, 41, said. "The invention he had in the game; he's well ahead of the game."

Frenchman Henry has signed a deal until June 2021 and left his role as Belgium's assistant manager to take up the post.

The former Arsenal striker helped Monaco win the Ligue 1 title in 1997 and takes over with the side third from bottom in the French top flight this season.

Henry's first game in charge will be against Strasbourg in the league on 20 October, before a Champions League tie with Club Brugge four days later.

"There's no right or wrong; that's the reference for me," he said of his intention to emulate Guardiola's approach. "I re-learned how to play the game when I went to Barcelona under him.

"With Pep you can talk about the game; he will not even go to sleep and will still talk about the game, you will fall asleep and he's still talking.

"You learn from people; they inspire you. But you also need to put your own little mix in it."

Henry won two La Liga titles and the Champions League with Guardiola at Barcelona

Asked about fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger, under whom he is considered to have played his best club football with Arsenal in his first spell in north London from 1999 to 2007, Henry said: "Arsene unlocked a lot of stuff in my mind, made me understand what it was to be a professional, what it was to perform.

"I will never forget that. You know the relationship I had with him so I will always carry some of the stuff that he was doing."

Henry, who also played for Juventus and New York Red Bulls, takes his first step into management following an illustrious playing career which included winning the World Cup with France in 1998 and the European Championship two years later.

The former striker scored 51 goals in 123 appearances for Les Bleus and retired as a player in December 2014 to work as a television pundit, before joining Belgium's coaching staff in 2016.