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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his team's chase for honors this campaign is being threatened by a worrying cycle of injuries and a grueling fixture list.

Fresh Team Update

Star player Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to sickness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

There was, however, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward added to their Champions League squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an foot injury.

"Practice, no because we don't have time to train. But obviously 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 cycle."

Dowman's setback is the most recent in a extensive list of fitness problems for the club. Since the start of last season, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-highest total in the Premier League.

Extended Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to return until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from surgery and "requires more time," according to the manager.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that training methods were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of time for drills. He highlighted the pressure on available players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two seasons.

Recruitment Strategy

Even after a major summer spend over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is unlikely looking to dip into the January recruitment market.

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

Looking Ahead

The team experienced their initial loss in 18 games at the weekend, cutting their advantage at the summit of the Premier League to two points.

Attention now shifts to the European stage, where a sixth group-stage victory would all but guarantee a knockout phase finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create history by scoring in a fifth straight consecutive Champions League match.

"The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," Martinelli stated. "It's not like all is going wrong because we lost one game. So we remain united."