Ozil: "I'm offering to reimburse Arsenal with the full salary of our big green guy as long as I will be an Arsenal player, so Jerry can continue his job that he loves so much."
Wednesday 7 October 2020 06:27, UK
Mesut Ozil has offered to reimburse Arsenal for the salary of Gunnersaurus if they give the mascot his job back.
A fundraising page has been set up for Jerry Quy, who has donned a dinosaur suit to play Arsenal's mascot for the last 27 years - following reports that his role had been deemed surplus to requirements with fans still unable to attend matches.
The move came in for criticism, with Arsenal great Paul Merson telling Sky Sports: "There will be 30 and 40-year-old fans who have grown up with that dinosaur. I think it's poor by Arsenal."
Ozil, who is out of favour with boss Mikel Arteta and has yet to play this season, has now tweeted that he will pay the mascot's salary for as long as he is an Arsenal player.
He wrote: " 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, so Jerry can continue his job that he loves so much."
The plight of Gunnersaurus has attracted interest throughout the world - with Spanish club Sevilla even claiming that they had signed the mascot themselves.
And TV personality Holly Willoughby posted on Instagram: "He was at my son Harry's 1st birthday and he's a hero in our house!
"He'll never be extinct in our eyes. Bring back Gunnersaurus!"
