Kirsty Mckenzie
SEVILLA have swooped in to secure Gunners mascot Gunnersaurus – just hours after he was unceremoniously sacked by Arsenal.
Football chiefs axed Jerry Quy, the man inside the costume for over 27 years, in a bid to cut costs.
But the Gunnersaurus Jerry barely had time to wipe his tears and hit the Job Centre before Sevilla made a deadline day bid to secure the much-loved green dino.
The tongue-in-cheek team took to Twitter on the summer window’s final day to announce their intentions by tweeting a picture of Gunnersaurus in response to a post asking: ‘Which player would you like your club to sign today?’
The Europa League champions had spotted the furore that broke out on Monday when the Gunners revealed they had let their beloved mascot go as part of their streamlining measures amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
The exit was hugely controversial – with Ian Wright, golfer Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston and Piers Morgan all criticising the change.
The Good Morning Britain host vowed to fight for Gunnersaurus’ job, tweeting: “You’re going nowhere @Gunnersaurus. I refuse to let @Arsenal sack you. Come on @m8arteta @Aubameyang7 – this is not what our club is about. #savegunnersaurus”.
But it seems not even Morgan could compete with Sevilla’s desire to pin down the popular mascot.
After several hours of nail-biting negotiations, Sevilla secured the dino and returned to Twitter to share a shot of Gunnersaurus dressed in a Sevilla shirt and cap.
Although Arsenal insisted the mascot will return – somewhat undermining Sevilla’s claims – football fans couldn’t resist having their say on the shock move.
One Gunners fan responded to the hilarious pic saying: ’Take good care of him, club legend in your hands’.
Meanwhile Paul Merson joked on SkySports: “I did know he was the highest paid mascot in the country on about £80,000-a-week.”
