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Mikel Arteta has expressed concern that his team's pursuit for titles this season is being jeopardized by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling schedule.

Fresh Squad Update

Key midfielder Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward registered to their European squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle problem.

"Training, no because we don't have time to train. But clearly the fact that you are missing players, you are placing demands on other players more, there's a consequence to that and it's a truly vicious circle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a long list of injuries for the North London side. Since the start of last campaign, they have recorded 95 player absences, 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 recover from knee and "needs more time," as stated by the boss.

Arteta rejected the idea that training intensity were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of time for drills. He highlighted the strain on available players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two years.

Recruitment Strategy

Even after a significant summer investment over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not looking to dip into the winter transfer market.

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

Looking Ahead

The squad suffered their first defeat in 18 games at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their advantage at the top of the Premier League to two clear points.

Attention now turns to the Champions League, where a sixth group-stage victory would all but secure a top-eight finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create history by scoring in a fifth straight successive European match.

"We are frustrated with the outcome, but we have to move forward," he stated. "It's not like everything is going badly because we lost one game. So we remain united."