Gary Neville believes that Arsenal made a mistake "from day one" by only offering Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a three-year deal.
The Gunners' star striker has just over a year left on his contract and is yet to sign a new deal.
With Arsenal almost guaranteed to miss out on the top four again this season, Aubameyang has been reluctant to pen fresh terms with the club.
It's left Mikel Arteta and the club with a dilemma over whether to sell their top goal-scorer or keep him beyond this summer and risk losing him for free.
This is a dilemma Arsenal were left with over the futures of Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri, in particular, under Arsene Wenger.
Neville believes that Arsenal's biggest mistake was the length of contract offered to Aubameyang, which has left them at the mercy of the player, a situation they're all too familiar with.
"It feels to me that if you pay £60million for someone, to have him sort of leaving or in a position where he can leave, I think Arsenal find themselves in this position far too often," Neville told The Football Show.
"I think a three-year deal for someone who cost £60m you'd at least want that fourth year so you can control him and if he does well in those first two years, which he has.
"So that's the mistake they've made with Aubameyang on day one, the fact that they're in this position now is through mistakes they've made previously.
"I think Arsenal are in a position where the player is going to call the shots. Yes, they could keep him for another year but then he leaves for nothing."
