Former footballer Paul Merson has admitted his 'life has fallen apart' after suffering a gambling addiction relapse that left him feeling like a 'crack addict'.

The 50-year-old midfielder, who has also now gone back to Alcoholics Anonymous, notoriously lost £7million on alcohol, drugs and gambling in the 1990s.

Now, in a new documentary set to air on ITV next Monday and Tuesday, the married father-of-six revealed he has once again been gripped by betting.

Merson said his life 'should be like, two lovely kids, a lovely wife and my life should be good - and it's literally going like that, and I mean quickly and worryingly'.

An emotional Paul Merson in ITV documentary Harry's Heroes: The Full English on next week

The former Arsenal player has struggling with a host of addictions. He is pictured doing a drinking celebration after an FA Cup win against Tottenham Hotspur on April 4, 1993

Merson is pictured with his now ex-wife Lorraine and their sons Charlie, Ben and Sam at home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1995. Sam is now a footballer for St Albans City FC

Merson, who played for clubs including Arsenal, Aston Villa and Portsmouth, told producers he was 'struggling badly' with life, adding: 'Life's fallen apart - gambling.

'I've just completely lost control, I've completely, again. I'm digging a hole - I can't get out of it. It's the worst addiction in the world.'

Merson, who is most famous for his time with Arsenal where he scored 78 goals in 327 games, placed his first bet at the age of 16 with his Gunners pay packet.

The Sky Sports Soccer Saturday pundit revealed that he was still being given credit and being allowed to bet by bookmakers despite his well-publicised addictions.

The new ITV show will see Harry Redknapp (pictured) try to get former players back to fitness

Pictured: (back row, from left) Manager Harry Redknapp, Lee Sharpe, Steve Howey, Mark Wright, David Seaman, Chris Waddle, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock, Mark Chamberlain, John Barnes (front row, from left), Paul Merson, Robbie Fowler, Matt Le Tissier, Rob Lee and Ray Parlour

Merson is now a pundit on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday. This image shows his reaction to Manchester City dramatically winning the Premier League title against QPR in May 2012

He described his urge to bet as 'relentless' and highlighted that he wagered money on sports such as football, snooker, cricket and basketball.

How Paul Merson has fought additions for three decades Paul Merson enjoyed a glittering football career and is still admired by Arsenal fans after scoring 78 goals in 327 games for the club. But he has faced a troubled personal life, fighting a well-documented addiction to gambling, alcohol and drugs for three decades which drove him to brink of suicide. Merson, who has been married three times and has six children, had claimed in 2003 to have won his battles with alcohol and cocaine. But he admitted he was still plagued by his gambling problem, and narrowly avoided losing his home five years later after falling behind with his mortgage payments. In his 2012 memoir, How Not To Be A Professional Footballer, revealed he had lost some £7million to bookmakers over the years. In the 1989/90 season at Arsenal, he was banned from Highbury for two weeks amid reports of drinking and gambling debts. In November 1994, he confessed he had a cocaine habit. He entered an addiction unit and was released six weeks later on the condition he attended outpatient therapy and support groups. The Football Association later said cocaine was not his main problem - it was drinking and gambling. In February 2012, he was given a 14-month-driving ban after pleading guilty to drink-driving following a motorway crash. Merson crashed his Mercedes ML350 into a 38-tonne lorry after falling asleep at the wheel on the M40 near Warwick in October 2011. The attacking midfielder made 21 appearances for England and represented his country at Euro 1992 and World Cup 1998. He also played domestically for Brentford, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Walsall. Advertisement

He added: 'It's so tiring it's unbelievable. Mentally draining, just sitting there, thinking where am I going to get more money to do this?

'It's like...it's literally like a crack addict. It is like a crack addict. Exactly like that.

'But, with crack, you couldn't spend that kind of money on crack, it's impossible. Impossible.'

Separately, he also revealed he was back at Alcoholics Anonymous, telling the Daily Star: 'I am back at AA. I have been going for nine weeks and my life is better.

'I had a meltdown but it was for the good. Being an addict is hard. It's something you have got for the rest of your life.'

The former footballer once told how he squandered £20,000 in a single weekend and saw his first marriage break down in 1996 because of his addiction.

The new ITV show, called 'Harry's Heroes', charts 13 former England footballer trying to get back to fitness under ex-Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp.

During the show Merson misses a training camp abroad due to a relapse and is filmed meeting former Southend United and Peterborough United striker Drewe Broughton, who has also battled addiction issues.

Merson told him: 'If I'm being honest, I'm struggling at the moment, really am, with the gambling. I find it very difficult.

'I'm back to virtually where I was many years ago. Sort of like now I'm just sort of like constantly gambling all the time and I don't like myself. And it's scary.

'My life should be good. It should be good. It should be like, two lovely kids, a lovely wife and my life should be good. And it's literally going like that and I mean quickly and worryingly.'

He added that in the taxi on the way, he broke down and said he had 'had enough', saying: 'It's got to that stage now. There's got to be something wrong with me.

'I've been in treatment, I've done it a few times. I've been to Arizona. You know what, it was unbelievable at the time. It was unbelievable what they did.

'And that's what scares me that I still went back and done what I've done now.'

David Seaman (left) and Merson (right) both appear on ITV's Harry's Heroes: The Full English

Merson is pictured in April 1993 with the League Cup and man of the match trophy at Wembley

Harry's Heroes: The Full English will air next Monday and Tuesday at 9pm on ITV