🔗 Share this article Mikel Arteta Fears Injury Woes Could Hinder Arsenal's Silverware Quest Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his squad's chase for honors this campaign is being jeopardized by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling fixture list. Fresh Team News Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain unavailable. There was, however, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward added 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 clearly the fact that you are without players, you are loading other players more, there's a consequence to that and it's a truly dangerous cycle." Dowman's setback is the latest in a extensive list of injuries for the North London side. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-most total in the Premier League. Extended Absences Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until the new year. Midfielder Kai Havertz still recover from surgery and "needs more time," as stated by the manager. Arteta rejected the idea that training intensity were to culprit, citing a lack of opportunity for drills. He highlighted the strain on available players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two seasons. Transfer Strategy Despite a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the club is not planning to dip into the January recruitment market. "Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a matter of weeks," he commented. "We know how crucial those coming weeks are going to be." Looking Ahead The team suffered their initial loss in 18 matches at the weekend, cutting their advantage at the top of the league to two points. Attention now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group win would virtually guarantee a top-eight place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create history by finding the net in a fifth successive Champions League fixture. "The team is frustrated with the outcome, but we have to keep going," he stated. "This isn't like everything is going badly because we lost one game. So we stick together."