🔗 Share this article Mikel Arteta Warns Injury Crisis Could Undermine Arsenal's Silverware Quest Arsenal's manager has voiced fears that his team's pursuit for titles this campaign is being threatened by a concerning circle of injuries and a grueling fixture list. Latest Team News Key midfielder Declan Rice did not travel for the Champions League trip to face Club Brugge due to sickness. Meanwhile, attacker Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba remain unavailable. There was, on a brighter note, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the South American striker registered to their European squad. He replaces the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who picked up an ankle problem. "Practice, no because we don't have time to train. But clearly the fact that you are missing players, you are placing demands on other players more, there's a knock-on effect to that and it's a really dangerous cycle." Dowman's setback is the most recent in a extensive list of injuries for the North London side. Since the start of last season, they have recorded 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 return until 2025. Midfielder Kai Havertz still recover from knee and "requires more time," according to the boss. Arteta dismissed the idea that training methods were to culprit, pointing to a lack of time for sessions. He emphasized the pressure on fit players, some of whom have featured over 150 matches in two years. Transfer Plans Even after a significant off-season spend exceeding £250 million, Arteta stated the team is unlikely looking to dip into the winter recruitment market. "Right now we're just concentrating on bringing the players back and hopefully it will be a matter of a short time," he commented. "We know how important those coming weeks are going to be." Next Challenge The team experienced their initial defeat in 18 matches at the hands of Aston Villa, reducing their advantage at the top of the league to two clear points. Attention now turns to the European stage, where a sixth group victory would all but guarantee a top-eight finish. Winger Gabriel Martinelli could create history by scoring in a fifth successive Champions League fixture. "The team is frustrated with the outcome, but we have to keep going," Martinelli said. "It's not like everything is going badly because we lost one game. So we stick together."