🔗 Share this article Arteta Fears Fitness Woes Could Undermine The Gunners' Silverware Hunt Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his team's chase for honors this campaign is being jeopardized by a concerning cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling schedule. Fresh Squad Update Star player Declan Rice missed the Champions League clash to Belgium due to sickness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain unavailable. There was, on a brighter note, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American striker registered to their European squad. He replaces the injured youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an foot problem. "Practice, no because we don't have time to train. But clearly the fact that you are without players, you are loading other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a really dangerous circle." Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive series of injuries for the club. Since the beginning of last campaign, they have recorded 95 injuries, the second-most 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 still recover from knee and "requires more time," as stated by the manager. Arteta dismissed the suggestion that practice methods were to culprit, pointing to a lack of time for drills. He highlighted the strain on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 games in two years. Transfer Plans Even after a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not looking to enter the January recruitment market. "Right now we're just concentrating on getting the players back and with luck it will be a matter of weeks," he commented. "It's clear how important those coming weeks are going to be." Next Challenge The squad suffered their initial defeat in 18 games at the weekend, cutting their lead at the top of the league to two points. Attention now turns 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 successive European fixture. "The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," he stated. "It's not like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we remain united."