Arsenal warned against targeting Liverpool ace Lallana in summer window

Arsenal "have to be careful" if they are going to consider a move for Liverpool's Adam Lallana this summer, says Nigel Winterburn, who has raised concerns over the playmaker's injury record.

Lallana has only five months left to run of his current contract at Anfield, and the Reds have shown no signs of offering him a renewal.

The 31-year-old will become a free agent in June, and he is allowed to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with any potential suitors between now and then.

Arsenal, Leicester City, West Ham and Tottenham have all been credited with an interest in Lallana, who has been restricted to just 13 Premier League appearances for Liverpool this season.

Winterburn has warned his old club against bringing in the England international, suggesting head coach Mikel Arteta can ill-afford to waste time and money on an unreliable player.

"Lallana is a player I like but he has had so many injuries problems," the ex-Arsenal defender told Metro Sport.

"When you’re looking to bring players in for the first team or even the squad, you have to be careful."

It has been reported that Arsenal could end up losing Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the end of the season, with all three men being touted for moves away from Emirates Stadium.

A switch to MLS has been mooted for Ozil, while Barcelona have been linked with Lacazette and Aubameyang consistently over the past few months.

Winterburn went on to insist that Arteta may be unable to prevent any key players from departing, before once again stressing the need for the club to be thorough in their pursuit of new additions.

"You want to keep all the best players you got, you want to work with them and play with them," he said.

"Unfortunately, players are earning massive amounts of money now and if they want to force a move they will.

"I’m more interested in the players that come to the club. Whether they’re highly rated or not, we’re only interested in what they do when they get here.

"If you’ve got a World Cup winner with all the stats and everyone is raving on about him, and then he comes to Arsenal and doesn’t do very well, we’d all be saying what a waste of time and money that was."

Arsenal have slipped to tenth in the Premier League standings after 25 fixtures, ten points behind fourth-placed Chelsea in the race for the final Champions League spot.

Winterburn can't see the Gunners finishing fourth come May, but he is still hopeful they can be successful in the FA Cup and Europa League after seeing signs of progress since Arteta's arrival.

"We’ve just got to stabilise this season and go for the cup competitions because realistically I can’t see us getting in the top four this season," Winterburn added.

"It doesn’t look like we can pull together a run of wins, and that’s where we have to get to.

"Winning games is key to players positivity and mental strength, that’s what Arteta has been brought in to do, to win games. I like what I’ve seen in terms of energy and organisation. Parts of the performances have been very good and others bad, but that will happen."