Mikel Arteta Fears Injury Woes Could Hinder Arsenal's Trophy Quest

Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's chase for honors this campaign is being threatened by a worrying circle of fitness setbacks and a grueling fixture list.

Fresh Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the midweek clash to Belgium due to sickness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain on the sidelines.

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

"Practice, no because we don't have time to train. But clearly the fact that you are without players, you are loading other players more, there's a consequence to that and it's a really vicious circle."

Dowman's issue is the latest in a long series of fitness problems for the club. Since the start of last campaign, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Long-Term Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from surgery and "needs more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta rejected the idea that training intensity were to blame, citing a lack of time for drills. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two seasons.

Recruitment Strategy

Even after a significant summer investment exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is unlikely planning to dip into the winter transfer market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on getting the players back and with luck it will be a matter 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 games at the hands of Aston Villa, reducing their lead at the summit of the league to two clear points.

Focus now turns to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group victory would all but secure a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by scoring in a fifth straight successive European match.

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