Arsenal hero Martin Keown has urged management to be bold in their handling of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's contract negotiations.

Aubameyang is out of contract at Arsenal next summer and is yet to sign an extension.

The Gunners are keen to tie the FA Cup final hero down to a new three-year deal, worth around £250,000 per week.

Keown told the Mirror: "Your centre-forward gives you hope and belief.

"You have got to have someone in your team who can score goals. At the end of the day that's what it comes down to, that's what sets them apart.

"Someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. And the goal he scored the other day [in the FA Cup final] said it all. It was world-class.

"And that's what Arsenal are trying to hang on to. You can see that there would be an awful lot of people that would want to take his services.

"He seems to have the occasional smile on his face, he works hard every game. He's a goal-machine.

"He's doing it from the left hand side, and in a team that is maybe not as successful or productive as teams we have had in the past. And yet he keeps banging the goals in.

"So we have to hold our hands up and say, 'This guy is really important to Arsenal football club'. But, if you look at recent history, the club can't be held to ransom.

"And no individual is more important than the club itself. So, they need to get that right and sort out the details for a new contract.

"He's 31 years of age now, he's at his peak.

"He probably has another two years of being a top player. Strikers do dip a little bit, but we do see examples of others going on into their late thirties.

"We'll have to wait and see what he'll produce."