Mikel Arteta Fears Injury Woes Could Undermine Arsenal's Trophy Hunt
Arsenal's manager has expressed concern that his team's pursuit for honors this campaign is being jeopardized by a worrying cycle of injuries and a grueling fixture list.
Latest Squad News
Star player Declan Rice missed the Champions League clash to Belgium due to sickness. In addition, forward Leandro Trossard and center-back William Saliba are still on the sidelines.
There was, however, positive news regarding Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazilian striker added to their Champions League squad. He comes in for the hurt youngster Max Dowman, who suffered an ankle injury.
"Training, no because we don't have time to train. But obviously 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 truly vicious cycle."
Dowman's issue is the latest in a extensive series of fitness problems for the North London side. Since the start of last season, they have suffered 95 player absences, the second-highest total in the English top flight.
Long-Term Absentees
- Defenders Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhães are not expected to return until the new year.
- Midfielder Kai Havertz continues to recover from surgery and "needs more time," according to the manager.
Arteta dismissed the idea that practice intensity were to blame, pointing to a shortage of time for drills. He emphasized the strain on available players, some of whom have featured over 150 games in two years.
Recruitment Strategy
Despite a major off-season spend over £250 million, Arteta stated the team is not planning to enter the January recruitment market.
"Right now we're just concentrating on getting 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."
Looking Ahead
The squad experienced their first defeat in 18 matches at the weekend, reducing their lead at the top of the league to two clear points.
Attention now shifts to the Champions League, where a sixth consecutive group win would virtually secure a knockout phase place. Forward Gabriel Martinelli could create history by finding the net in a fifth straight successive European fixture.
"We are frustrated with the outcome, but we have to keep going," he stated. "This isn't like everything is going wrong because we lost one game. So we stick together."
