Paul Merson says that Arsenal should let Alexandre Lacazette go at the end of the season, despite his recent upturn in form.

The striker’s contract at the Emirates Stadium expires this summer, leaving him currently free to negotiate a pre-contract deal with a foreign club.

Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was bombed out of the Arsenal team in December, Lacazette has stepped up to wear the captain’s armband and registered two goals and three assists in six league games.

However, former Gunners midfielder Merson has warned the club against offering the 30-year-old Frenchman a new deal.

‘If Alexandre Lacazette goes and gets 10 goals before the end of the season, they can’t get lazy and just give him a new deal worth £250,000-a-week, thinking it might be his season next season,’ Merson told Sky Sports.

‘However, for me, Lacazette has had his time at Arsenal. Whatever he does between now and the end of the season, he’s had his chance at the Emirates Stadium.

‘What Arsenal now need to start doing is working on not letting happen what has happened too many times in the past when as an Arsenal fan, you are watching these bright young stars in action, and then all of a sudden you see in the press that they’ve only got a year left on their contracts.

‘That cannot happen anymore. They’ve got to keep on topping up players’ contracts. They have good young players, and they need to keep on top of their contracts. They can’t get lazy and have players run down their contracts and eventually leaving on a free.

‘They need to show they have learnt from the mistakes of the past and get these players tied down so that they are playing their best years at Arsenal.’

This is Lacazette’s fifth season at Arsenal, but it is threatening to be his worst in front of goal – he has just five goals in 22 games in all competitions.

Nonetheless, he is one of just two senior strikers currently at the club following Aubameyang’s departure to Barcelona.

The other is 22-year-old Eddie Nketiah, but he is also entering the final five months of his contract in north London.

Lacazette’s former club Lyon have been linked with signing him on a free transfer, with the club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas recently confirming their interest in him.