🔗 Share this article

Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his squad's chase for titles this season is being threatened by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling schedule.

Latest Team Update

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the Champions League trip to Belgium due to illness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

There was, however, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward added to their European squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot injury.

"Training, no because we lack 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 circle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive series of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the start of last campaign, they have suffered 95 injuries, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Extended Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "needs more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that training intensity were to culprit, citing a shortage of time for sessions. He highlighted the pressure on available players, some of whom have played over 150 matches in two seasons.

Recruitment Strategy

Despite a significant summer investment over £250 million, Arteta stated the club is not looking to dip into the winter transfer market.

"Right now we're just focusing on getting the players back and hopefully 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 experienced their initial loss in 18 matches at the weekend, reducing their lead at the summit of the league to two points.

Attention now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group win would virtually secure a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by scoring in a fifth straight successive European fixture.

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