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

Latest Squad News

Star player Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League trip to Belgium due to illness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still unavailable.

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

"Practice, no because we don't have 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 vicious cycle."

Dowman's setback is the most recent in a extensive list of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the start of last season, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Extended Absentees

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

Arteta dismissed the idea that practice intensity were to blame, citing a shortage of opportunity for sessions. He highlighted the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Transfer Strategy

Despite a significant summer spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the club is not planning to enter the January recruitment market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on getting 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."

Next Challenge

The squad experienced their first loss in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the top of the league to two points.

Focus now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group-stage victory would all but guarantee a knockout phase place. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could make history by finding the net in a fifth consecutive Champions League match.

"We are disappointed with the result, but we have to move forward," Martinelli said. "It's not like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we remain united."