Everyone is talking about Declan Rice’s Arsenal workload, but they’re missing someone

Arsenal's game against Slavia Prague on Wednesday night was about as 'game of two halves' as it can get.

The Gunners conceded just one shot in the opening 45 minutes, whilst accumulating 1.3 expected goals themselves. In the second period, they gave up two expected goals, conceding 17 shots to the Czech giants.

This drastic change in performance levels is unusual between two halves of football, and many are theorising whether Declan Rice's energy levels had something to do with it. The midfielder played yet another 90 minutes, much to the dismay of Arsenal supporters, who feel Mikel Arteta is overburdening him.

Indeed, the England international looked extremely laboured towards the end of the game, lumbering through the match, desperately searching for the full-time whistle. Slavia broke through Arsenal's midfield on multiple occasions, and this was in large part because Rice was nowhere to be seen in the defensive area of the pitch.

He'd charge forward and not have the fuel to then track back after the Gunners had lost possession. Clearly, Arteta made a mistake keeping his talismanic number six on the pitch for the entire game, and he needs to be careful when managing the player's minutes moving forward.

That said, with all the focus on Rice, fans are overlooking the fact that another player is getting absolutely no rest whatsoever.

Gabriel Magalhaes also completed 90 minutes in Prague. This was his seventh 90 in the space of 26 days, taking his minute tally for the season to 1,305 across all competitions - more than any other Arsenal player and 140 more than Rice.

Yet, nobody talks about Gabriel's workload. Everyone just expects the Brazilian to keep playing without rest, while Rice's minutes are intensely scrutinised.

Part of this is certainly that playing at centre-back isn't quite as taxing as playing in midfield. You cover less ground and spend less of the match sprinting up and down, keeping your position for most of the game. Central defenders tend to play the most minutes of any outfiteld player.

However, that shouldn't be a reason to dismiss concerns over Gabriel's minutes. He has played almost every game over the last few years whilst he's been fit. Arsenal take his ever-presence for granted, and Arteta needs to start rotating him every now and again in the coming months.

There is hope, however. William Saliba was on the bench against Slavia and should be available for selection again after the international break. Between the Frenchman, Ezri Konsa and Cristhian Mosquera, Arteta should feel comfortable handing Gabriel the occasional rest in less important games, just like he did with the likes of Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori on Wednesday night.