On Oct. 5, it was announced that the man behind Arsenal's mascot Gunnersaurus, Jerry Quy, has been let go by the football club.
Gunnersaurus retrenched
His role is no longer deemed necessary as fans are still not allowed in stadiums due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Quy, who has been described as a lifelong fan of the club, has played the role of the mascot for the last 27 years.
His exit from the club has devastated a lot of fans, even former Arsenal player Ian Wright.
To add insult to injury, Arsenal announced they signed a new player, Thomas Partey, a day after the mascot was let go.
Over £10,000 raised for beloved mascot
A GoFundMe page was also set up in a bid to save the Gunnersaurus.
The page described the mascot as a "club icon" and deemed it to be on the top of the mascot league.
As of the time of writing, the page has raised over £10,000 (S$17,609.48).
A day after Quy's retrenchment was announced, Arsenal's midfielder Mesut Özil posted an Instagram post sharing that he was "so sad" that Quy was made redundant.
In the post, he offered to reimburse Quy's full salary so he could retain his job:
"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."
It is not known, however, if this move is confirmed.
Redundancies and pay cuts
The Gunnersaurus isn't the only one who was let go from the club.
In a club statement from Aug. 5, Arsenal said that they have proposed 55 redundancies to the club due to the economic impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Its players, senior football staff and executive team have also volunteered for pay cuts.
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Top image from GoFundMe page and Getty.