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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's pursuit for titles this season is being jeopardized by a concerning cycle of injuries and a grueling schedule.

Latest Team News

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain on the sidelines.

There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward registered to their Champions League squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot injury.

"Training, 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 vicious circle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive list of injuries for the North London side. Since the start of last campaign, they have suffered 95 injuries, the second-highest total in the Premier League.

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to be back until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "needs more time," as stated by the manager.

Arteta rejected the idea that practice methods were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of opportunity for sessions. He highlighted the strain on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 games in two seasons.

Recruitment Plans

Even after a significant summer spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta stated the club 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 said. "We know how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Looking Ahead

The team suffered their first defeat in 18 games at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the summit of the Premier League to two points.

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

"We are disappointed with the outcome, but we have to keep going," he stated. "It's not like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."