🔗 Share this article

Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his squad's chase for honors this season is being jeopardized by a worrying circle of fitness setbacks and a grueling fixture list.

Latest Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the Champions League clash to Belgium due to sickness. In addition, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian striker added to their Champions League squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot problem.

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

Dowman's issue is the latest in a extensive series of fitness problems for the club. Since the beginning of last season, they have suffered 95 injuries, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to rehabilitate from surgery and "requires more time," according to the manager.

Arteta rejected the idea that practice intensity were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of time for sessions. He highlighted the pressure on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Transfer Plans

Despite a significant off-season investment over £250 million, Arteta stated the team is unlikely looking to dip into the January recruitment market.

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

Looking Ahead

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

Focus now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth group victory would all but guarantee a knockout phase place. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could make history by finding the net in a fifth successive European fixture.

"We are disappointed 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 remain united."