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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his squad's chase for titles this campaign is being threatened by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a relentless schedule.

Fresh Squad News

Star player Declan Rice missed the Champions League trip to face Club Brugge due to sickness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still unavailable.

There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American forward registered to their Champions League squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered 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 truly vicious circle."

Dowman's setback is the latest in a long series of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the beginning of last season, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-most total in the English top flight.

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 "needs more time," as stated by the manager.

Arteta rejected the suggestion that training methods were to culprit, citing a shortage of opportunity for drills. He emphasized the pressure on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Recruitment Strategy

Despite a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta stated the club is not planning to dip into the winter recruitment market.

"At the moment we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and with luck it will be a question of weeks," he commented. "We know how important those coming weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The squad suffered their initial defeat in 18 games at the weekend, reducing their lead at the summit of the league to two points.

Focus now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth group victory would all but secure a top-eight place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make history by finding the net in a fifth consecutive European fixture.

"The team is disappointed with the outcome, but we have to keep going," he stated. "This isn't like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."