Arsenal are seriously struggling.

Mikel Arteta’s side took on Wolves at the weekend and suffered another defeat, their fifth of the season.

Goals from Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence were enough to give Nuno Espirito Santo’s men a relatively comfortable victory in north London and it leaves the Gunners 14th in the Premier League table.

They are already five points off the top four and eight behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur, whom they face this weekend in a much-anticipated north London derby.

A key problem has been their failure to hit the back of the net on a consistent basis.

Arteta’s side have scored just 10 goals this season; only West Bromwich Albion, Burnley, and Sheffield United, who are all in the bottom three, have scored fewer.

And former midfielder Jack Wilshere believes that the club have made a mistake in exiling Mesut Ozil.

The Germany international has not been included in either the Premier League or the Europa League squad by Arteta, meaning he can only play U23 football until the January transfer window, when he could well look to depart the Gunners.

But Wilshere thinks Ozil, valued at £8.1m by Transfermarkt, would play a major role in Arteta’s team if he were brought back into the fold, having scored 44 goals and laid on 77 assists in 254 games for the club in total.

Speaking to Sky Sports News, the ex-England midfielder said: “I think he’d be a big player in that team.

"I would love to see Ozil play in that team under Arteta but obviously that's not happening at the moment. He could get on the ball and feed the likes of [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang and [Alexandre] Lacazette."

Wilshere won two FA Cups playing alongside Ozil and he says he thoroughly enjoyed being in the same team as the World Cup winner.

He added: “I loved playing with him. He was a top player. It's a shame, but what is happening is happening, and no one knows but I'm sure everyone will find out one day."

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

The longer Arsenal’s struggles go on, the more the focus sharpens on why exactly Arteta has bombed Ozil out of the squad.

He is an elegant playmaker, the kind of player who can split defences in two with one pass.

Given that Arsenal are struggling to score goals and create chances, they are crying out for a proper No.10 to create chances for Aubameyang and Lacazette.

Ozil is right there and is surely the very best option available to Arteta.

That he has sent him away seems all the more confusing given the start to the season that the Gunners have made.