🔗 Share this article Arteta Fears Fitness Crisis Could Undermine Arsenal's Trophy Hunt Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his squad's chase for honors this campaign is being threatened by a concerning circle of injuries and a relentless fixture list. Fresh Team News Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the Champions League trip to Belgium due to illness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines. There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian striker registered to their European squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle injury. "Practice, no because we lack time to train. But clearly the fact that you are missing players, you are loading other players more, there's a consequence to that and it's a really vicious circle." Dowman's setback is the latest in a extensive list of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the beginning of last season, they have suffered 95 injuries, the second-most total in the Premier League. Long-Term Absentees Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to be back until the new year. Midfielder Kai Havertz still rehabilitate from surgery and "requires more time," as stated by the manager. Arteta dismissed the suggestion that training intensity were to blame, pointing to a shortage of time for sessions. He highlighted the pressure on available players, some of whom have featured over 150 games in two years. Transfer Strategy Despite a major off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta stated the club is unlikely planning to dip into the winter transfer market. "At the moment we're just concentrating on getting the players back and hopefully it will be a matter of a short time," he said. "It's clear how crucial those weeks are going to be." Looking Ahead The team suffered their first defeat in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, reducing their advantage at the summit of the league to two points. Focus now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group victory would all but guarantee a top-eight place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make history by scoring in a fifth straight consecutive European fixture. "The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," Martinelli said. "This isn't like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we remain united."