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

Fresh Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the midweek trip to Belgium due to sickness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian striker registered to their Champions League squad. He comes in for the injured youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an foot injury.

"Practice, 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 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 English top flight.

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to be back until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz still recover from surgery and "needs more time," as stated by the manager.

Arteta rejected the suggestion that training intensity were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of opportunity for drills. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 matches in two years.

Recruitment Plans

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

"At the moment we're just focusing on getting the players back and with luck it will be a matter of a short time," he commented. "It's clear how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Looking Ahead

The squad experienced their first defeat in 18 matches at the weekend, cutting their lead at the top of the league to two clear points.

Attention now turns to the Champions League, where a sixth group win would virtually guarantee a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create history by finding the net in a fifth consecutive European fixture.

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