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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his squad's pursuit for honors this season is being threatened by a worrying cycle of injuries and a relentless schedule.

Latest Squad News

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

There was, however, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American striker added to their European squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot problem.

"Practice, no because we lack time to train. But clearly 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 list of injuries for the club. Since the start of last campaign, they have suffered 95 player absences, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Long-Term Absentees

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

Arteta rejected the idea that training methods were to blame, citing a lack of opportunity for sessions. He highlighted the pressure on available players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two seasons.

Transfer Strategy

Despite a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta stated the team is not planning to enter the winter transfer market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a question of a short time," he commented. "It's clear how crucial those weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The team suffered their initial loss in 18 games at the weekend, reducing their advantage at the summit of the Premier League to two clear points.

Attention now turns to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group win would all but guarantee a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by scoring in a fifth straight consecutive European fixture.

"The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to move forward," he stated. "This isn't like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we remain united."