Police believe they have identified a Twitter user who posted a sickening tweet racially abusing Arsenal goal hero Danny Welbeck . Officers from Greater Manchester Police ( GMP ) launched a probe into a message posted after the former Manchester United striker returned to Old Trafford and scored the winner in the Gunners ' 2-1 FA Cup Quarter Final victory on Monday night . The vile , racist rant , tweeted by user @ angeIsleftfoot , read : 'Welbeck is dead to me , the f****** c***… ’ Danny Welbeck celebrates after scoring against his former club Manchester United on Monday . Welbeck netted the winning goal as Arsenal progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory . Louis van Gaal decided to sell Welbeck after deeming him surplus to requirements at Old Trafford . CHECK OUT the best Internet memes and responses to Welbeck 's winner at Old Trafford . The tweet continued with sickening references that are deemed too offensive to publish here . Sportsmail understands officers in Manchester with specialist training in social media identified the user and passed on the information to Wiltshire Police , who confirmed they have now picked up the case . The account was no longer active on Wednesday . Welbeck was jeered by a minority of United fans after being replaced by Olivier Giroud late in the game . The 24-year-old shakes hands with former team-mate Wayne Rooney ( left ) after the game . Welbeck spent six seasons at United after coming through the club 's youth system . A complaint was made by another Twitter user and officers will now decide whether the tweet constitutes a hate crime . The vitriolic slur was one of a number of disturbing messages posted in the aftermath of Welbeck 's triumphant return to United . Some stated that they hoped the 24-year-old , who is from Manchester , would die while one user threatened to kill him . Welbeck was shown the door by United boss Louis van Gaal last year , who claimed he was not good enough . £60m man Angel di Maria ( 2nd right ) was sent off for laying his hands on referee Michael Oliver ( 2nd left ) He seized upon a poor backpass to give Arsenal a lead they would not relinquish and then celebrated in front of the 9,000 visiting supporters - an action which was welcomed by many pundits . Despite isolated boos , Welbeck was applauded from the field by the majority of United fans when he was substituted in the 74th minute . A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said : 'Following the appearance of a racist tweet aimed at a former Manchester United player , which was placed on social media on Monday evening , Wiltshire Police can confirm that they are currently investigating this matter . ' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-1 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals . Danny Welbeck returned to haunt his former club by scoring the winner . Police are investigating after a racist comment was posted on Twitter . Jamie Redknapp : Welbeck was right to celebrate scoring for Arsenal . CLICK HERE for all the latest Arsenal news .