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The London club is suffering multi-million dollar losses amid an absence of fans due to COVID-19 , so football club’s longtime mascot was fired.
According to British outlets, Gunnersaurus’ departure might not be permanent – the mascot will return at Emirates Stadium when it is back at full capacity once the coronavirus pandemic is over. But Sevilla decided to have a bit of fun, by quoting the tweet on the official website of the Spanish club: “Dreams do come true. Welcome, Gunnersaurus.”
Gunnersaurus was introduced to Arsenal fans in 1993. Soft and constantly smiling, he is known for riding around in convertible and weird pre-match handshakes.
The story of “invention” of the mascot is also quite unusual. In the 1993-1994 season, the Junior Gunners held a contest to design a new mascot. The management chose two winners, but a proposal of an 11-year-old Peter Lovell for a dinosaur named Gunnersaurus Rex won the contest in the end.
Jerry Quy has been playing the mascot’s role since 1993. Quy has shown his dedication to the Gunners home and away since 1963. As lifelong Arsenal fan, he even missed his brother’s wedding to attend a home game.
