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Mikel Arteta has voiced fears that his squad's chase for honors this season is being jeopardized by a worrying circle of injuries and a relentless schedule.

Fresh Squad Update

Star player Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to Belgium due to illness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba remain unavailable.

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

"Practice, no because we don't have time to train. But clearly 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 really vicious circle."

Dowman's setback is the most recent in a extensive series of injuries for the North London side. Since the beginning of last season, they have recorded 95 player absences, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Extended Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to return until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "needs more time," according to the manager.

Arteta rejected the idea that training intensity were to culprit, citing a shortage of time for sessions. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Transfer Plans

Even after a significant off-season investment exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not planning to dip into the January transfer market.

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

Next Challenge

The squad suffered their initial loss in 18 games at the hands of Aston Villa, cutting their lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.

Focus now turns to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group win would all but secure a knockout phase finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create history by scoring in a fifth straight consecutive European match.

"The team is disappointed with the outcome, 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."