Vietnamese soccer fan Vu Xuan Tien became an instant celebrity in his country after showing his great love for Arsenal when his favourite football club visited for an exhibition match with the Vietnamese National Team.

Tien, now known as the Running Man, caught the attention of several Arsenal members after the 20-year-old medical student chased their bus for five miles along the streets of Hanoi.

Tien dodged and leaped over all kinds of obstacles along the way just to show his great support for the Gunner, who routed the Vietnamese National football team 7-1 in their friendly match at My Dinh stadium.

But the star of Arsenal's short stay in Vietnam will always be Tien, whose video generated over a million views even before Wednesday's friendly match. His exploits also gained respect and adulation from fellow Vietnamese soccer fans, who even considered him as a hero.

"The running man is a hero. I'm proud of him," said 18-year-old student Nguyen Thanh Thuy, according to South East Asia Real Time.

Aside from the autographs and face-to-face greetings with Arsenal players, Tien also received an invitation from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to watch his favourite team play at Emirates Stadium in the United Kingdom.

"It took us almost a day to find this fan on Wednesday to pass him Wenger's invitation, and of course he jumped at it," said Mr. Doan Nguyen Duc, the founder of the HAGL-Arsenal JMG Football Academy in Vietnam.