Arsenal fans are trying to warn Mikel Arteta about Declan Rice before it's too late

Arsenal got the win they were looking for in the Czech capital, beating Slavia Prague despite a late scare from the home team. Goals from Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyökeres gave Arsenal the cushion that protected a troublesome second half, whereby Wiktor Nowak scored a late goal to threaten the Gunners.

Despite the win, which no Arsenal fan can complain about, there was a troubling sign in Mikel Arteta's treatment of Declan Rice that fans have noticed. The English midfielder, who is known for leaving nothing out there on the pitch, played the entire match. Some fans feel that his load of minutes was unnecessary, particularly after the tough Anfield test.

"Arteta's worst quality is still managing minutes," said one Arsenal fan on Reddit after pointing out that Arteta is probably banking on taking off Rice early in the upcoming Hull match - which isn't a guarantee.

On Rice, another Arsenal fan added: "Given his summer injury issues, he needs to rest more often if he's gonna be available in the spring."

Of course, it is a troubling sign for Arsenal fans. They still live with Rice not being 100% when they faced PSG in the Champions League final. If Rice was as fit as PSG's midfield, it could have been a very different result.

"Arteta is an amazing manager, but he's terrible at managing player minutes and health," added another Arsenal fan. "Rice is following exactly the path of Saka, and it's only a matter of time before he breaks down completely."

Rice is one of Arsenal's most important players. Alongside the likes of Gabriel and David Raya, he is essential to the spine of the team. Without him, the Gunners lose the engine they often rely on.

The English midfielder is physically fit. However, every player has their minutes. Arsenal have seen the slow decay of Bukayo Saka, through no fault of Saka's own, and that's because Arteta relied too heavily on the winger in the process-building stage.

Now that Arsenal have invested well in the midfield, he could (and should) be resting Rice more often. Of course, winning games is the most important thing to Arteta, and to win games, he often feels like Rice is the catalyst - he can be forgiven for thinking that - but the fact of the matter remains the same. He should be resting Rice when he gets the chance.

Arsenal face Hull at the weekend, and Rice will inevitably start in that game. If Arsenal gain a comfortable lead, then fans will start to think that Rice must be benched to preserve his energy - that said, it's been rare in recent games that Arsenal have taken any semblance of a comfortable lead.

It's a habit that's certainly not too late to fix - but Arteta should fix it before it becomes too late.