Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Runarsson deletes his Twitter account after abuse from fans

Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Runarsson has deleted his Twitter account after receiving abuse from fans following his blunder in the Carabao defeat by Manchester City.

Runarsson was a surprise inclusion in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI for the quarter-final tie with first choice ‘keeper Bernd Leno rested. 

Alexandre Lacazette had pulled Arsenal level after they went 1-0 down in the third minute but Runarsson’s howler gifted City the lead again shortly after half-time.

Alex Runarsson let Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick slip through his fingers when the score was 1-1

The goalkeeper has since deleted his Twitter account after receiving abuse from supporters

Supporters inundated the young shot-stopper with disparaging tweets after his error

The Iceland international was making only his fifth start since joining the club in the summer

The 25-year-old let Riyad Mahrez’s weak free-kick slip through his hands, despite the shot being straight at him. 

Pep Guardiola’s side went on to win the game 4-1 with many Gunners fans blaming Runarsson’s error for the heavy defeat with some making their feelings clear by tweeting him directly. 

Runarsson deleting his Twitter account comes after Micah Richards suggested Arsenal Fan TV is ‘piling the pressure’ on the club’s players.

The 25-year-old conceded four goals in a heavy Carabao Cup defeat by Manchester City 

Richards said: ‘You know AFTV, I’m a massive fan of it, I love it. But for the players, the amount of pressure… you could be scrolling through and your name pops up and someone’s being horrible and it can affect your confidence.

‘These players now look at social media. Players work hard, trying to be better every day but there’s negativity…’

Supporters were also critical of Arteta’s decision to play the Iceland international, who was starting only his fifth competitive game for the club since signing from Dijon in the summer. His other four appearances have come in the Europa League.  

Despite Arsenal dominating most of their group games, Runarsson conceded three goals in his four games. 

The ‘keeper was beaten at his near post for Dundalk’s second goal in the Gunners’ 4-2 victory earlier this month. He was also slow to react when Rapid Vienna pulled a goal back at the Emirates. 

Arteta defended his decision to start his second choice ‘keeper, saying: ‘He hasn’t played a lot of games for us he’s just adapting to the league.

‘We all make mistakes but we have to support him.

Mikel Arteta defended his decision to start his second choice ‘keeper over Bernd Leno

‘Alex has done well in other games and these things happen in football.’

Runarsson immediately came under scrutiny when he arrived at Arsenal after some of his old tweets about Arsene Wenger were discovered.

The goalkeeper was was far from complimentary about Arsene Wenger in 2011, calling the then-Gunners boss a ‘French f***,’ ‘stupid’ and ‘the dumbest man on this planet’ in three separate posts.