Mikel Arteta Fears Fitness Woes Could Hinder Arsenal's Silverware Quest

Arsenal's manager has expressed concern that his squad's chase for honors this season is being threatened by a concerning circle of injuries and a grueling fixture list.

Fresh Squad Update

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian striker added to their European squad. He replaces the injured youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an foot injury.

"Practice, no because we lack time to train. But obviously the fact that you are without players, you are loading other players more, there's a consequence to that and it's a really dangerous cycle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive list of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the start of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-most 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 surgery and "requires more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta dismissed the idea that practice methods were to culprit, pointing to a lack of time for drills. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Transfer Plans

Despite a major summer spend over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is unlikely planning to dip into the winter transfer market.

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

Next Challenge

The squad experienced their first loss in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the summit of the league to two points.

Attention now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group win would all but guarantee a knockout phase place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make a club record by finding the net in a fifth straight successive Champions League fixture.

"The team is disappointed with the result, 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."