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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's chase for honors this campaign is being jeopardized by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling schedule.

Latest Squad News

Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League clash to Belgium due to illness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

There was, however, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward added to their European squad. He replaces 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 missing players, you are placing demands on other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a really vicious cycle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive series of injuries for the club. Since the start of last season, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-highest 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 still rehabilitate from knee and "needs more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that practice methods were to blame, pointing to a shortage of time for sessions. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Recruitment Strategy

Despite a major summer investment over £250 million, Arteta stated the team is not planning to dip into the winter recruitment market.

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

Next Challenge

The squad suffered their first loss in 18 games at the weekend, cutting their advantage at the summit of the league to two clear points.

Focus now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group win would all but secure a knockout phase place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make a club record by finding the net in a fifth straight consecutive Champions League match.

"We are disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," Martinelli said. "This isn't like everything is going badly because we lost one game. So we stick together."