Arsenal are among the most popular football clubs in the world.
The Gunners were always a big club, but they became a global brand thanks to the brilliant work Arsene Wenger did for many years.
Mikel Arteta has taken that forward since his appointment as the manager of the club, and he has done a great job over the last few seasons.
However, as painful as it is to say, there is another English club who could be more popular than Arsenal – Manchester United.
The change in one former Arsenal star’s social media following highlights that.
What happened to Ayden Heaven’s Instagram following after leaving Arsenal?
Ayden Heaven spent five-and-a-half years at Arsenal.
The talented teenager joined the club in 2019 and came through the ranks at Hale End. He impressed everyone in the academy and even caught Arteta’s eye.
After a good pre-season tour in the United States, where Arteta hailed Heaven as ‘remarkable’, the youngster got to make his competitive first-team debut in the Carabao Cup.
That, however, wasn’t enough for Arsenal to retain his services. Heaven joined Manchester United in the winter window, and he has become a popular man since.
The Daily Mail have claimed that since joining United from Arsenal on the February 1st, Heaven’s following on Instagram has tripled.
It was around 43,000 when he left the Gunners, but that number has gone up to over 128,000 now. That is incredible growth in the space of 11 days.
The one reason why Heaven was right to leave Arsenal
It’s never good to see academy players leave the club, especially ones who are incredibly talented and have huge potential.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Heaven fell into that category, but you can’t fault him for choosing to leave the club.
That’s because Heaven’s pathway to the first team at Arsenal was blocked by William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, who are not going anywhere anytime soon.
At Manchester United, he already made the bench against Leicester City in the FA Cup, and he could be in the squad again when they face Tottenham.
Heaven’s chances of senior football in the near future at United are a lot more than they would’ve been at Arsenal. So, his decision was the right one.
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