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A fundraising page was created for Arsenal’s mascot Gunnersaurus after it was reported that he had been released by the club.
With Arsenal fans eager to see the newcomers to Emirates Stadium on the day of the transfer deadline, a surprising outing appears to have stolen the headlines.
Athletic reported that Gunnersaurus, the club’s mascot for the past 27 years, has been fired, and his role is no longer deemed necessary as fans are still unable to attend matches.
As a result, George Allen created a GoFundMe page for Jerry Quy, who has played the much-loved dinosaur mascot since 1993, three years before Arsene Wenger arrived at the club.
A statement on the page read: “Gunnersaurus has been the Arsenal club mascot for 27 years. He is a club icon and we cannot allow him to become extinct.”
“Played by Jerry Quy, a lifelong fan, it would be a shame to lose him. The pet league is the only one we’ve been consistently on top of, let’s keep our all-time top scorer on top.
“We’re going to keep him going for another 65,000,000 years and prevent him from twerking on OnlyFans for a living. Let’s raise some money to keep Gunnersaurus going. Please give generously!”
The report of Gunnersaurus’s departure sparked widespread condemnation on social media, with Arsenal fan and TV host Piers Morgan saying on Twitter: “WHAT? This better not be true.
He added: “You’re not going anywhere @Gunnersaurus. I refuse to let @Arsenal fire you. Come on @ m8arteta @ Aubameyang7, this is not what our club is about.”
Gary Lineker tweeted: “It shouldn’t be necessary, but it could be a good move and an act of kindness for the players and @Arsenal manager to come together and solve this absurdity.”
During a 12-year stint with the Gunners, Paul Merson won two league titles with the club and expressed his disappointment at the news.
He told Sky Sports: “All those kids, the junior Gunners, he’s a part of it now and there will be people in their 30s and 40s who have grown up with that dinosaur. It’s disappointing and I think it’s poor for Arsenal, I really do.
“Honestly, I think he’s poor, he’s terrible for Arsenal. I remember him when I was there and my kids were junior Gunners and they used to take things away from him. He’s not classy.”
In August, Arsenal announced they would make 55 layoffs due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the club’s finances.
A severe drop in streaming revenue was cited as the main reason and, with the games still behind closed doors, Gunnersaurus has had no fans to interact with at the Emirates Stadium.
The Palestinian Authority news agency has contacted Arsenal for comment.
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