Mikel Arteta Warns Fitness Crisis Could Undermine Arsenal's Trophy Hunt

Mikel Arteta has expressed concern that his team's chase for honors this campaign is being threatened by a concerning cycle of injuries and a relentless schedule.

Fresh Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League clash to face Club Brugge due to sickness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward added to their European squad. He comes in for the injured youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle 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 truly dangerous circle."

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

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to be back until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to rehabilitate from surgery and "requires more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta rejected the idea that training methods were to culprit, pointing to a lack of time for drills. He emphasized the pressure on available players, some of whom have featured over 150 games in two seasons.

Transfer Strategy

Despite a major off-season spend over £250 million, Arteta insisted the club is not looking to enter the January recruitment market.

"At the moment we're just concentrating on bringing 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 initial loss in 18 matches at the weekend, cutting their advantage at the summit of the league to two clear points.

Focus now turns to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group-stage victory would virtually guarantee a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by finding the net in a fifth straight consecutive European match.

"We are frustrated with the outcome, but we have to move forward," Martinelli stated. "It's not like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."