Arteta Fears Fitness Crisis Could Hinder The Gunners' Silverware Hunt

Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's chase for titles this season is being jeopardized by a worrying circle of injuries and a relentless fixture list.

Fresh Team News

Star player Declan Rice missed the midweek clash to face Club Brugge due to sickness. In addition, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still unavailable.

There was, however, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American striker added to their Champions League squad. He comes in for the injured youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an foot problem.

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

Dowman's setback is the most recent in a extensive list of injuries for the club. Since the start of last campaign, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-highest total in the English top flight.

Long-Term Absences

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

Arteta rejected the idea that training methods were to blame, citing a shortage of opportunity for drills. He emphasized the strain on available players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Recruitment Strategy

Despite a major off-season investment over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not planning to dip into the January transfer market.

"Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and with luck it will be a matter of a short time," he commented. "We know how crucial those weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The squad experienced their first defeat in 18 games at the hands of Aston Villa, reducing their lead at the top of the league to two clear points.

Focus now turns to the European stage, where a sixth group win would all but secure a top-eight finish. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make history by finding the net in a fifth successive European fixture.

"The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," Martinelli said. "This isn't like everything is going badly because we lost one game. So we stick together."