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Arsenal's manager has expressed concern that his squad's chase for titles this season is being threatened by a worrying circle of fitness setbacks and a relentless fixture list.

Latest Team Update

Star player Declan Rice missed the Champions League clash to face Club Brugge due to illness. Meanwhile, forward Leandro Trossard and defender William Saliba are still on the sidelines.

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

"Training, no because we lack time to train. But clearly 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 dangerous circle."

Dowman's setback is the latest in a long list of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the beginning of last season, they have suffered 95 player absences, the second-most total in the Premier League.

Extended Absentees

• Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to be back until the new year.
• Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from knee and "requires more time," as stated by the manager.

Arteta rejected the idea that practice methods were to culprit, pointing to a shortage of time for drills. He highlighted the pressure on fit players, some of whom have played over 150 games in two seasons.

Transfer Plans

Even after a significant off-season investment over £250 million, Arteta insisted the team is unlikely planning to dip into the winter recruitment market.

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

Looking Ahead

The squad experienced their first defeat in 18 games at the weekend, cutting their lead at the top of the league to two clear points.

Attention now turns to the European stage, where a sixth group-stage win would all but guarantee a top-eight place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could make a club record by scoring in a fifth straight successive European fixture.

"The team is disappointed with the result, but we have to keep going," he stated. "This isn't like all is going badly because we lost one game. So we stick together."