Brazil managing two Arsenal stars' workload after club talks

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Brazil are managing the workloads of Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes in consultation with Arsenal, with both players held out of part of the Selecao's open training session in Brisbane this week.

The pair are away with Carlo Ancelotti's squad in Australia before the group travels to Kolkata for a friendly against India on Saturday, the final fixture of this international window.

At Wednesday's session, which followed Brazil's 4-2 win over the Socceroos, Gabriel and Guimaraes took part in a separate ball drill alongside Vinicius Junior, Endrick, Danilo and Vanderson. When the two groups merged, the Arsenal duo were not involved and instead watched on from the sideline, sitting on footballs and chatting with one of Ancelotti's coaches.

Minutes and travel behind the decision

According to football.london, the thinking in both cases is that their condition is being carefully managed because of the volume of games they have already played this season, compounded by the long-haul travel from England to Australia.

Neither player has been short of involvement on the trip. Guimaraes started both friendlies against Australia, playing 62 minutes of the 1-1 draw and 83 minutes of the 4-2 victory, scoring in the latter and captaining the side during the second half. That win also marked his 50th cap for Brazil.

Gabriel was an unused substitute in the first meeting with the Socceroos before playing the full 90 minutes of the 4-2 win on the Gold Coast.

Gabriel on his senior role

Speaking after the session, the Arsenal defender discussed his growing seniority within a squad undergoing significant turnover under Ancelotti.

"It's a group of new players, many are here for the first time. Regarding the games, we want to gel as quickly as possible," Gabriel said. "We haven't been with the Brazilian national team for very long, and we need to adapt quickly."

He added: "We've been working well, and the coach has given us a lot of confidence. The most important thing is to welcome the boys and give them confidence, because they are certainly the future of our national team."

Brazil will have just one more training session, in India, before Saturday's meeting with the hosts in Kolkata. Whether both Arsenal players feature at all after a week of managed loading remains to be seen.

The timing of the fixture leaves a reasonable runway before club football resumes. Arsenal are not back in action until Saturday October 10, when they host Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League, giving Mikel Arteta's returning internationals several days back at London Colney before the squad is finalised.