Arsenal has edged out Manchester United as China’s favourite football club, according to a recent survey.
The majority of the 15,586 respondents chose the London-based Gunners as their favourite club team and Germany as their preferred national team.
Coventry University’s Centre for the International Business of Sport conducted the survey between September and November on Weibo.
Head of the centre Professor Simon Chadwick said, “Arsenal was a surprise.
Although given that Chinese fans like the German national team, the fact that Ozil, Podolski and Mertesacker play for Arsenal make the result rather less surprising.”
The Gunners racked up 3,785 votes, compared with Man United’s 3,210. AC Milan came third with 2,204 votes, followed by Real Madrid (1,959) and Barcelona (1,930).
Arsenal is currently sitting at the top of the English Premier League standings.
Qin Jian, a 15-year Gunners supporter and founder of the 600,000-strong Arsenal Fans Association of China said, “Arsenals fans will be happy when they hear the news, but I think the survey might be a little one-sided.”
Manchester United still had the most Weibo followers: 2.1 million compared with Arsenal’s 1.3 million.
Chadwick said, “Favourite players, success and style of play are all important contributory factors in determining which teams fans support.”
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