🔗 Share this article Mikel Arteta Fears Fitness Woes Could Undermine Arsenal's Trophy Hunt Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his team's pursuit for titles this season is being jeopardized by a worrying cycle of injuries and a relentless schedule. Latest Squad News Star player Declan Rice did not travel for the midweek trip to Belgium due to sickness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain on the sidelines. There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American forward registered to their European squad. He comes in for the injured youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle 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 really dangerous cycle." Dowman's issue is the most recent in a long series of fitness problems for the club. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-highest total in the English top flight. Long-Term Absentees Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to return until the new year. Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "needs more time," according to the manager. Arteta rejected the idea that training methods were to culprit, citing a lack of opportunity for drills. He highlighted the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 matches in two seasons. Transfer Plans Despite a significant summer spend over £250 million, Arteta insisted the club is unlikely planning to dip into the January transfer market. "At the moment we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a matter of a short time," he said. "It's clear how important those coming weeks are going to be." Looking Ahead The squad suffered their initial loss in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, reducing their lead at the summit of the league to two points. Focus now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group-stage victory would all but guarantee a knockout phase finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by scoring in a fifth successive European fixture. "The team is frustrated with the outcome, but we have to move forward," Martinelli stated. "It's not like all is going badly because we lost one game. So we remain united."