Mikel Arteta has voiced concerns that Arsenal’s growing injury crisis could hinder their Premier League title challenge after Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera limped off during Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over Brentford.

Goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka secured the win at the Emirates Stadium, moving the Gunners five points clear of second-placed Manchester City and extending their unbeaten run to 18 matches, including eight consecutive home victories.

However, Arteta was dealt another defensive blow as Mosquera, already covering for injured centre-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, was forced off just before half-time. Rice then hobbled off with a calf issue 10 minutes from full-time.

“Obviously it’s never good news. Declan had to come off. We don’t know. We have to see tomorrow what he’s got,” Arteta said. “Declan can walk. He cannot play. He’s played a lot of minutes, and now we played Wednesday night and have to play Saturday morning as well.”

The Gunners had already faced a demanding week, with wins over Tottenham and Bayern Munich and a draw with Chelsea. Arteta had attempted to rest key players, including Saka, Jurrien Timber, and Eberechi Eze, but all three were eventually required off the bench.

“Rest, that’s quite a positive word to use. We had to make some changes,” Arteta added. “We were asked to play three days later, with one less recovery day than them. We can play minutes, but if they can please give us just a little more time to recover and look after the welfare of these players, that would be great.”

Arsenal now face an early kick-off trip to in-form Aston Villa on Saturday, with their injury worries set to test squad depth further.