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Mikel Arteta has expressed concern that his squad's pursuit for honors this season is being threatened by a concerning circle of fitness setbacks and a relentless schedule.

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Star player Declan Rice missed the midweek trip to face Club Brugge due to illness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still unavailable.

There was, however, better news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American forward added to their European squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle injury.

"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 consequence to that and it's a really vicious circle."

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

Long-Term Absences

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are unlikely to return until 2025.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz still rehabilitate from surgery and "needs more time," according to the manager.

Arteta dismissed the suggestion that training methods were to culprit, pointing to a lack of time for drills. He emphasized the strain on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two years.

Recruitment Strategy

Even after a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is not planning 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 matter of a short time," he said. "We know how important those weeks are going to be."

Next Challenge

The squad experienced their initial defeat in 18 matches at the weekend, cutting their lead at the top of the Premier League to two points.

Attention now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group victory would virtually secure a knockout phase place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create a club record by scoring in a fifth straight successive Champions League fixture.

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