Arteta Fears Fitness Crisis Could Undermine Arsenal's Trophy Hunt

Mikel Arteta has expressed concern that his team's pursuit for titles this campaign is being jeopardized by a worrying circle of injuries and a grueling schedule.

Fresh Squad News

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the Champions League trip to Belgium due to illness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward registered to their European squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot injury.

"Training, no because we don't have time to train. But obviously the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a really vicious cycle."

Dowman's setback is the most recent in a long list of injuries for the North London side. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-highest total in the Premier League.

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to be back until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "requires more time," according to the manager.

Arteta dismissed the idea that training methods were to blame, citing a lack of opportunity for sessions. He highlighted the pressure on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Transfer Plans

Despite a significant summer spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not looking to dip into the winter transfer market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a matter of weeks," he commented. "We know how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Looking Ahead

The squad suffered their initial defeat in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the top of the Premier League to two points.

Focus now turns to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group victory would virtually secure a knockout phase place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by finding the net in a fifth straight consecutive European match.

"We are disappointed with the outcome, but we have to keep going," he said. "It's not like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."