Arsene Wenger has a serious dilemma at Arsenal - and it has nothing to do with the futures of Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil.

With every passing week it's becoming more obvious that the Gunners' midfield isn't strong enough to compete with the Premier League's best.

Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka have been the preferred midfield partnering so far this season but their flaws have been exposed on a number of occasions, such as against Liverpool.

The idea is that Ramsey is given the freedom to roam while Xhaka anchors just in front of the defence - a role the Swiss thrives in when Arsenal are on the front foot.

Using his sweet left foot, Xhaka dictates play from deep and even chips in with the occasional assist.

But against stronger opposition, when Arsenal are forced to defend and space is limited, Xhaka struggles and becomes error prone.

Against Everton, for example, the 25-year-old took too long on the ball and gave away possession in a dangerous area for Wayne Rooney to score.

Arsenal went on to win that game 5-2, but it wasn't the first time Xhaka gave his teammates a scare with a moment of sloppiness.

Wenger places a lot of trust in his £35 million signing from 2016 and there's evidence to suggest he can become a top defensive midfielder.

But one thing Xhaka must cut out is giving the ball away cheaply.

An embarrassing statistic has emerged about the Switzerland international this season and it's no exaggeration that it doesn't get much worse for a midfielder.

According to the Telegraph, Xhaka has misplaced 153 passes in the Premier League thus far, which is more than any other player.

For someone whose game revolves around picking up the ball and spraying passes to his teammates, it seems Xhaka is taking too many risks and they're proving costly.

Calls are starting to be made for Wenger to drop the Swiss as a result of his shortcomings and finally hand Jack Wilshere his first start in the Premier League.

Wilshere has shown he's back to his best in the Europa League and there's an argument to be made his best position is defensive midfield.

He may be shorter than Xhaka, but Wilshere's low centre of gravity means he rarely gives possession away and is able to work in tighter spaces.

Judging by Xhaka's passing accuracy this season, playing Wilshere next to Ramsey is certainly something worth considering for Wenger.