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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his squad's pursuit for titles this campaign is being threatened by a worrying cycle of fitness setbacks and a grueling fixture list.

Fresh Squad Update

Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League trip to Belgium due to sickness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still unavailable.

There was, however, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian forward registered to their European squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle injury.

"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 consequence to that and it's a really dangerous cycle."

Dowman's issue is the most recent in a extensive list of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the beginning of last season, they have suffered 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 rehabilitate from surgery and "needs more time," according to the manager.

Arteta dismissed the idea that training intensity were to culprit, citing a lack of time for drills. He highlighted the pressure on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 matches in two years.

Transfer Strategy

Even after a major off-season investment over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is unlikely planning to enter the January transfer market.

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

Next Challenge

The squad suffered their first loss in 18 games at the weekend, cutting their advantage at the summit of the league to two points.

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

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