Let's take a moment to realise that Arsenal are closer to the relegation zone than the Premier League summit. It's a painful fact for Gooners to stomach as Henrikh Mkhitaryan's long awaited debut was marked by a bitter defeat to Swansea City. Arsenal suffered the same fate as Liverpool in south Wales, falling to a 3-1 defeat to find themselves eight points adrift of the top four.It all started so well with Nacho Monreal firing the north London side into a 33rd minute lead with Mesut Ozil producing another moment of a magic with the assist.Their lead lasted all of 60 seconds, though, with Sam Clucas levelling the scores with his third goal of the season.The game trundled to half-time at 1-1 with Wenger introducing Mkhitaryan to the fray in the 60th minute. And his first minute in an Arsenal shirt ended in catastrophe with Jordan Ayew profiting from a nightmare moment from Petr Cech - you can see there fracas HERE.

Bitter defeat for Arsenal in south Wales

Clucas found the net for a second time in the 86th minute to put the game to bed and continue the Swans' revival under new manager Carlos Carvalhal.

It marks a new low for an Arsenal side which looked to have been invigorated by Mkhitaryan's arrival and the agreement of a deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Now, however, their chances of Champions League football seem to lie solely with Europa League victory.

Arsenal fans carried out an inquest on Twitter and were in almost unanimous agreement that two players were at the heart of their problems - Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey.

The pair played alongside Mohamed Elneny, who has impressed in recent weeks, in a midfield trio that was almost completely overrun by their Welsh opponents.

Arsenal fans react on Twitter

Check out the reaction from Arsenal fans:

The moral of the story: Gooners want Jack Wilshere back ASAP.

Supporters were fed up with the Xhaka-Ramsey combination that seemed to lack the cocktail of communication, organisation and steeliness that Wilshere brings to the side.

And the fans make a very good point. While Wenger bolsters his attacking line-up, it's clear that the club are lacking an effective midfield to play behind them.

Worryingly, too, their shining light this season - Wilshere - is out of contract in the summer and could potentially follow the same fate as Sanchez. The finest creative midfielder in the side? Ozil; also out of contract soon.

It doesn't bode well for the remainder of Arsenal's season and as exciting of a signing Aubameyang is, he won't provide all the answers.

Do you think Arsenal will qualify for the Champions League this season? Have your say in the comments section below.