October 6 – Arsenal’s mascot became the latest victim of the club’s controversial cost-cutting exercise amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gunnersaurus was let go by the Londoners after serving the club for 27 years.
Deadline day in England was pocked with the usual rumours, sightings, innuendo and late deals, but Arsenal, who gained the reputation of a parsimonious club under former coach Arsene Wenger, had a mixed deadline day even after they signed Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey in a £45 million deal to bolster their midfield.
Early on Monday, the club thanked Jerry Quy, who had dressed up as Gunnersaurus, a friendly green dinosaur, at home matches since 1993, for his services because of cost-cutting measures at the club. Quy was on a part-time contract with the club, but will reportedly return to the club when fans are allowed to attend matches again.
In August, the London club had already announced 55 redundancies, citing the financial impact of the coronavirus as the reason for the drastic cuts, a move that led to serious criticism at the club’s address over its role in the community.
Gunnersaurus, however, was a much loved dinosaur in north London and his ‘outgoing transfer’ sparked controversy on social media. Within hours, Arsenal fan George Allen had set up a GoFundMe page in a bid to save the club mascot.
Allen wrote on the page: “Gunnersaurus has been the Arsenal club mascot for 27 years. He’s a club icon and we cannot let him become extinct. Played by lifelong fan Jerry Quy, it would be a terrible shame to lose him.
“The mascot league is the only one we’ve consistently been on top of, let’s keep our all time top scorer on top. Let’s keep him going for another 65,000,000 years.”
The funding campaign has raised £9,000 so far, but there was sympathy elsewhere for Gunnersaurus as well. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation, a charity dedicated to protect the rights of all animals, wrote to Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta, “offering to hire the “dinosaur” until football stadiums reopen.” The group wants to employ Gunnersaurus to promote a planet-friendly lifestyle.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1727581150labto1727581150ofdlr1727581150owedi1727581150sni@o1727581150fni1727581150