Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes is having a ragged time, his home media are seriously unimpressed
Arsenal fans will be concerned about Gabriel Magalhaes' form as his latest Brazil performance is rightly criticised by national media.
Gabriel has earned plaudits as one of the best centre-backs in world football over the last few seasons at Arsenal.
He has started this campaign in predictably decent form, but did look all at sea as the Gunners were beaten 3-0 by Brighton before the international break.
The 28-year-old's struggles have continued for Brazil, as he was part of the backline that conceded twice to Australia in midweek.
Several Brazilian media outlets have savaged his performance, and his stats from the game show exactly why they are right to.
The Gunners' fans and Mikel Arteta will hope that he improves in their final game of the break against India before returning to North London when club football resumes.
Gabriel struggles vs Australia as media drop 'uncertain' verdict
The first game of Brazil's double-header against the Socceroos last Friday saw Gabriel sit out of a 1-1 draw.
He was drafted into the starting eleven alongside Nottingham Forest's Jair Cunha for their second clash, as the visitors emerged with a 4-2 friendly win.
Gabriel had the most touches of any player, but did misplace eight passes, commit two fouls to earn a booking and fail to make a successful tackle in the clash.
He also won just one of three ground duels and two of five aerial duels as his disappointing performance was correctly outlined by Brazilian media.
GOAL Brasil reviewed how Gabriel played by writing: "The Arsenal player looked strangely uncertain at times and was shown a yellow card in the 40th minute. He struggled to keep up with the late runs into the box that led to Australia’s comeback in the first half."
While Terra offered a similar verdict as they said: "He made too many passing errors in the first half and picked up a yellow card. He improved in the second half and almost scored with a header."
Gabriel also avoided clear red card vs Australia - Ex-PGMOL chief
While he did not play well for his country but was still on the winning side, things could have been a lot worse for Gabriel, as he luckily avoided his marching orders.
He picked up a booking for a rash challenge on Tete Yengi in the 40th minute, but former PGMOL boss Keith Hackett has exclusively told Football Insider that Gabriel deserved to be sent off.
Hackett said: "The offender knew exactly what he was doing. There was no attempt to play the ball, and sadly, his focus was on the player. His actions meet the criteria for serious foul play. He should have received a red card. Where was VAR?"