Beloved mascot you probably don’t know, saved by player

Mesut Özil saves the Arsenal mascot as Gunnersaurus faces the end of his time at the Premier League club.

Gus Schlomer '21, Co-Editor in Chief|October 7, 2020

Gunnersaurus.

Most do not know him, but he is the most beloved mascot on the planet.

Arsenal Football Club in London, England is one of the most storied clubs in all of soccer. They play at the Emirates, and make frequent trips to Wembley for Finals and Cup games. They are a successful organization with a billion with a B owner who just recently shelled out millions in transfer money for players.

The same day he shelled out millions, he cut the wages of a Gunnersaurus, aka Jerry Quy, a measly 70,000 in comparison to the 94.6 million spent on four players’ transfer fees.

Gunnersaurus doing his pregame ritual before the Gunners take the pitch. (Adam Davy)

Jerry Quy once “Gunnarsaurus”, has been a long time Arsenal supporter for over 30 years and has been inside the dino suit since its inception in 1993.

Arsenal announced in August that they were making 55 non-playing staff redundant as the club reacts to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic while the first-team squad were asked to take a 12.5% pay cut which dropped to 7.5% after qualifying for this season’s Europa League. Quy did not fall under the 55 cuts because he worked as part time during the season but his position slipped right through the cracks.

Enter Mesut Ozil. Ozil who is a German international and is the highest earner at Arsenal making $350,000 a week stated the following on twitter: “I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous & loyal mascot @Gunnersaurus and integral part of our club was being made redundant after 27 years. As such, I’m offering to reimburse @Arsenal with the full salary of our big green guy as long as I will be an Arsenal player.”

Gunnersaurus horsing around at training with at the time Head Coach Arsen Wenger (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Obviously, Ozil has more than enough money to pay the $70,000 salary of Quy and could pay it five times per week with his weekly wage. Some other than Quy were relieved, a man on twitter said that he has the green giant tattooed on his arm. This is just showing how much Gunnersaurus means to the Arsenal fans and community.

With that being said, Gunnersaurs, the big green giant is here to stay for the next year as Ozil hasn’t seen much time on the pitch as of late and only has another year on his contract. Here’s to hoping he and Gunnersaurus stick around for a long, long time.