Arsenal delete tweet wishing ex-Russian star Andrey Arshavin a happy birthday

Ukrainian football fans on Twitter took issue with Arsenal paying a birthday tribute to their former winger Andrey Arshavin after the Russian's alleged support for the Ukraine war.

Arsenal have deleted a tweet wishing former player Andrey Arshavin a happy birthday.

The Gunners on Monday posted a tweet celebrating the 42-year-old, who made 144 appearances for the north London club between 2009 and 2013.

Their tweet included a video of the Russian winger’s greatest game for Arsenal in which he scored four goals against Liverpool in an epic 4-4 draw at Anfield. “Wishing you a great day, Andrey,” the caption read.

But the post was immediately met with backlash by Ukrainians on the social media platform, who criticised Arsenal for sending well wishes to a Russian.

One user claimed Arshavin regularly works for Russian state TV and has pledged to fight for his country against Ukraine if conscripted.

Another had written: “28 may: russian army attacked Zhytomyr region, home region of Alex Zinchenko, by a missile strike. 29 may: Arsenal send greetings to russian player andrey arshavin. How Zinchenko [Arsenal defender] and all Ukrainians must feel about it?”

Ukrainian fans later noticed that Arsenal had deleted the tweet, which they went on to applaud.

“Arsenal have DELETED their arshavin birthday tweet,” a Twitter user wrote along with approving emojis.

Another tweeted: “Thank God they deleted that tweet…,” while a third added: “Good work.”

It comes after Arshavin achieved cult-hero status at Arsenal despite largely failing to meet his potential and never winning silverware. Arshavin initially made his name starring for Zenit St Petersburg, where he made 310 appearances, and the Russian national team.