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

Latest Squad Update

Star player Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League trip to Belgium due to sickness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain on the sidelines.

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

"Training, 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 knock-on effect to that and it's a really dangerous circle."

Dowman's issue is the latest in a extensive 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.

Extended Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to return until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "needs more time," according to the boss.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that practice methods were to culprit, citing a lack of opportunity for drills. He highlighted the pressure on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Recruitment Plans

Despite a major off-season spend over £250 million, Arteta stated the club is not planning to dip into the January recruitment market.

"At the moment we're just focusing on getting the players back and with luck it will be a question of a short time," he commented. "We know how important those weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The team suffered their initial defeat in 18 games at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their lead at the top of the league to two points.

Focus now turns to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group-stage victory would virtually secure a top-eight finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could make history by finding the net in a fifth straight consecutive European fixture.

"The team is frustrated with the result, but we have to keep going," Martinelli stated. "This isn't like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."