Arsenal have the fifth highest number of Twitter followers amongst sport clubs.

As maligned as social media is, it can be a handy way to gauge a club’s online presence and popularity. Sports clubs have the advantage over the average Twitter account due to the enormous followings they’ve amassed over the years.

Nonetheless, Arsenal’s 10.57million Twitter followers is very impressive. According to a ranking created by talkSPORT, only three other sports clubs in the world have more.

Barcelona (Spanish and English accounts), Manchester United and Real Madrid all, unsurprisingly, boast more Twitter followers. Arsenal will have to go some way to matching their followings.

The Gunners, though, have improved their online engagement over the years. They started out a functional but drab account, but have since shown more personality with a higher frequency of tweets and entertaining ways of announcing new signings.

This is part of a wider trend amongst football clubs, who are learning that it’s not enough to simply give out information on their accounts. Clubs are now becoming more and more aware of what’s being said on social media and now using it to their advantage.