Mikel Arteta can hardly catch a break. The performance of his Arsenal side away to Brighton was one that needed a bit of luck to get a positive result over the line, but as it happened, things only got worse.

Already playing without Kai Havertz due to illness and Bukayo Saka through injury, Arteta was only able to name Martin Odegaard on the bench as he struggled with a bug that is impacting a large portion of the squad. Gabriel Martinelli was not passed as fit enough to start, either.

Preparing for Carabao Cup semi-final action against Newcastle on Tuesday, he admitted that the pre-game training was only with seven or eight senior players available. This is what Arteta is working with, and then a controversial penalty went against his side on the south coast.

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Before that, Ethan Nwaneri joined the list of doubts and injury-hit stars. His knock, which is muscular but still unspecified, will now keep him sidelined for a few weeks, Arteta confirmed.

It comes at the worst possible time. Saka is out indefinitely, for now, and Raheem Sterling is still unavailable. He will be back soon, but there are big games coming up and Arsenal need attacking cover.

Not only are Newcastle in one cup on the immediate horizon, but the visit of Manchester United in the FA Cup as well. That is on Sunday, and if Ruben Amorim's plan for the eventual 2-2 draw away to Anfield is anything to go by, they might just prove more stubborn than initially thought.

Things get tougher again when Tottenham visit three days later in the second North London Derby of the season. The pace of things continues to pick up in the weeks following as Aston Villa are the fourth team in a row to travel to the Emirates Stadium. Champions League action comes thick and fast on the return, too.

Before the end of the month a trip to Wolves and Girona comes. Then it's a big one away to Manchester City. The second-leg against Newcastle ends the first week of February.

If Nwaneri is out for four weeks - which could reasonably constitute "a few", as Arteta described - then he could miss as many as nine games. Even being sidelined for half of that, the mid-January run Arsenal have will almost certainly see him out for at least five, and they are some of the biggest fixtures left.

Luckily for Arsenal, things understandably ease up in the schedule after this period. The problem is, if things domestically don't go well, by the time Nwaneri is back in the fold there might not be as much to play for. It is already looking like the Premier League title is out of reach, whilst Champions League progress is sure to be a priority moving forward.

The two cups carry plenty of weight, and Nwaneri will hope to have a role to play in pushing Arsenal towards much-needed silverware. On the flipside, if the Gunners can come through the next month or so without Nwaneri, a fully fit Odegaard, and Saka, then once they return it could be a spectacular race to the finish.