Arsenal fans genuinely played a part in convincing Gabriel Magalhaes to choose the club this summer according to reports.

The Telegraph report that whilst Edu, Mikel Arteta and the history of Arsenal played a part for Gabriel Magalhaes in his decision to join the club, the fans also had their own role to play.

Supporters bombarded Gabriel with messages on social media over the last few weeks, before he made his decision. According to The Telegraph, the stream of pleading requests to join Arsenal genuinely helped him make the call.

Arsenal fans ‘made him feel wanted’.

There’s no doubt that the spotlight is on the Brazilian right now. Even with the move still not yet confirmed, his Twitter following jumped from 6,000 to 35,000 in a month. His Instagram went from 68,000 to 142,000 in the same 30 days.

Most of those new followers will be excited Arsenal fans begging him to join, and they’re hard to ignore.

I don’t think anyone is saying this is a good reason to join a team on its own. Nor that it was the only factor for Gabriel. But at this stage of his career, playing for a team that really needs him is important.

As a result, you can see why Gabriel might want to pick the club where the supporters are so desperate for him.

The centre-back reportedly chose Arsenal over Napoli, Manchester United and Everton.