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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's pursuit for honors this campaign is being threatened by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a relentless fixture list.

Latest Squad News

Star player Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. In addition, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American forward added to their Champions League squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an foot problem.

"Training, no because we lack time to train. But obviously the fact that you are without players, you are placing demands on other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a really dangerous circle."

Dowman's setback is the latest in a extensive series of fitness problems for the club. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Long-Term Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to rehabilitate from knee and "requires more time," as stated by the manager.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that training methods were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of time for sessions. He emphasized the pressure on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two seasons.

Recruitment Strategy

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

"At the moment we're just focusing on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a question of a short time," he said. "It's clear how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The team experienced their initial defeat in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the summit of the Premier League to two points.

Attention now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth consecutive group-stage win would all but guarantee a top-eight place. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create history by scoring in a fifth straight consecutive European fixture.

"The team is frustrated with the outcome, but we have to move forward," he said. "It's not like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."