London: Expressing sadness over Gunnersaurus being made redundant after 27 years, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil said he has decided to pay the wages of Jerry Quy, the man who donned a dinosaur suit to play Arsenal mascot.
Announcing the decision on Twitter, Ozil 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. #JusticeForGunnersaurus #M1O #YaGunnersYa."
Quy was let go of his mascot duties at the Emirates Stadium at the start of the week. The matches are currently being played behind closed doors due to concerns regarding the spread of coronavirus and the club decided that Quy's services were not required amid fans' absence.
Last month, Premier League had said that the clubs suffered £700m in losses last season due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Football is not the same without attending fans and the football economy is unsustainable without them. Last season, Premier League clubs suffered £700m in losses and at present, our national game is losing more than £100m per month. This is starting to have a devastating impact on clubs and their communities," Premier League had said in a statement.
