Mikel Arteta Warns Fitness Woes Could Undermine The Gunners' Trophy Hunt

Arsenal's manager has expressed concern that his squad's chase for titles this season is being threatened by a worrying circle of fitness setbacks and a relentless fixture list.

Fresh Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the Champions League trip to Belgium due to illness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American forward added to their European squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle injury.

"Training, no because we lack time to train. But clearly the fact that you are without players, you are loading other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a truly vicious cycle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a long list of injuries for the club. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have suffered 95 injuries, the second-most total in the English top flight.

Long-Term Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to be back until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to rehabilitate from knee and "requires more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta rejected the suggestion that practice methods were to blame, pointing to a shortage of opportunity for sessions. He highlighted the strain on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Recruitment Plans

Despite a significant summer investment exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the club is not planning to dip into the January recruitment market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and with luck it will be a question of a short time," he said. "We know how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The squad suffered their first loss in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their lead at the top of the league to two clear points.

Attention now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth group-stage victory would all but secure a knockout phase finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could make a club record by finding the net in a fifth successive Champions League match.

"We are disappointed with the outcome, but we have to move forward," Martinelli said. "This isn't like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."