The bad blood between arch-rivals Arsenal and Tottenham has landed a Gunner in some hot water.

Emmanuel Frimpong, the 20-year-old Ghanaian, was charged by the FA today "for improper conduct in relation to recent comments made on Twitter."

The issue stems from a string of tweets between Frimpong and a Tottenham supporter on July 15 that have since been deleted by the Gunner midfielder.

After Frimpong had tweeted, "if you going church today Pray For me Giving today A Miss," a Tottenham supporter replied, "I prayed you break your arms and legs."

In response, the angry Gunner replied with what the FA deemed "a reference to ethnic origin, faith or race" in the tweet, "@ Scum Y**."

Today, Frimpong took to Twitter in response to the charge, saying:

Just wanna Say didn't even no the word is offensive as u hear it all the time but u live and learn from ur mistakes Have a gd afternoon

One can sympathize with Frimpong on the matter.

For one thing, it is almost understandable for someone to lose their head when someone crosses the line like that Twitter user did with his first tweet. I mean, it is quite reprehensible to wish someone harm.

Further, it is imaginable that Frimpong actually did not understand that his tweet was out of line. After all, a large group of Tottenham supporters actually use the word to describe themselves.

On the other hand, there is still no excuse, not even ignorance, for the usage of derogatory language about someone's heritage. That much was made clear by the Luis Suarez suspension last season.

Hopefully this situation can act as an educational one for players about what is acceptable language and also the dangers of Twitter.

For the latest news in the world of football, follow me on Twitter.