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Mesut Özil has offered to pay the full salary of Jerry Quy, the man who wears Arsenal’s famous Gunnersaurus mascot costume, as long as he remains a club player.
Quy has held the position for 27 years alongside a succession of other jobs at Arsenal, playing an integral role as Gunnersaurus became a fixture at Highbury and the Emirates Stadium, as well as an instantly recognizable figure far beyond. With no matches for the mascot to attend until fans return to Premier League matches, he was recently fired as part of a series of controversial cost-cutting measures attributed to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move sparked an outcry, especially as it came to light the day Arsenal paid Atlético de Madrid £ 45 million for Thomas Partey, who will earn £ 230,000 a week and receive a registration fee of more than £ 2 million. pounds. The £ 350,000 weekly salary paid to Özil, who is excluded from Mikel Arteta’s team, was also withheld against money apparently saved by parting ways with Quy, but the midfielder has moved to reclaim that narrative and ensure that a member of staff highly respected be followed.
“I was very saddened that Jerry Quy, aka our famous and loyal mascot… and an integral part of our club, was fired after 27 years,” he wrote on social media. “As such, I offer to reimburse Arsenal with the full salary of our big green man as long as he is an Arsenal player so that Jerry can continue his work that he loves so much.”
Arsenal, which announced 55 layoffs of its full-time staff in August, have yet to confirm whether Ozil’s offer will be accepted. Although there is no question about his sincerity, he has disagreed with his employer on several issues in recent months, particularly in choosing not to take a pay cut in April due to doubts about the effects his actions would have. This seems to be another similar situation.
Arsenal have highlighted that Gunnersaurus has not definitively retired and has not ruled out that Quy will return to occupy the position.
