Arsenal condemn social media abuse aimed at journalist

A journalist suffered “anti-Semitic” and “homophobic” abuse from social media users after Arsenal responded to a controversial article he wrote.

Daily Mail sports reporter Adam Crafton penned a combined XI article which featured 11 Tottenham players and none from Arsenal ahead of the north London derby on Saturday.

Arsenal went on to beat Tottenham 2-0 in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium with first-half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez.

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The article backfired, particularly when the club responded to it. Arsenal’s official Twitter account replied to the journalist’s post, which linked to the original article, with a gif of Mesut Ozil sipping a cup of tea and a wink face emoji after the victory.

Crafton claims the club’s actions have led to him receiving abuse from social media users.

A tweet from his account read: “I picked a team. Arsenal won. I look a bit silly. Congrats to Arsenal.

“But since they tweeted it to 12m people, I’ve had all-day harassment on here, including anti-Semitic, homophobic abuse & people wishing me dead.

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“I can handle it but would not advise clubs repeat this.”

An Arsenal club spokesman said: “No offence was intended and we are disappointed that the journalist has been subject to abuse which we would condemn in the strongest terms.”