Excitement as Gunnersaurus returns to Arsenal - but who is beneath the costume?

[ASFN Admin]

Gunnersaurus returned to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday for the first time since the man who doubled up as him for almost three decades was made redundant. Arsenal’s beloved mascot posed for a picture at a Junior Gunners event a month after it emerged Jerry Quy had been let go as a result of cost-cutting measures this summer. Quy was made redundant from his other roles at Arsenal – which included working within the field of supporter liaison – although the club stressed that did not mean the end of Gunnersaurus and that the mascot would return to the Emirates when crowds did. The news nevertheless prompted a major outcry, with midfield outcast Mesut Ozil promising to pay Quy’s salary in full while the German remained an Arsenal player. The Daily Telegraph has been told that Quy has been offered the opportunity to continue as Gunnersaurus as part of a new roster but that he has yet to accept. A spokesman said: “We’ve always said Gunnersaurus is an important part of Arsenal and a popular figure for our fans around the world. Gunner never went away but due to the virus restrictions there have been limited opportunities for him to appear in public.” Arsenal announced in August that staff were being made redundant due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. There has also been a dramatic restructuring of their recruitment department, with a number of high-profile scouting experts leaving the club. Edu, Arsenal’s technical director, explained the restructuring in recruitment in September. “It is simple for me,” he said. “With my position here I want to put in place one clear process how we are going to sign, who gets the responsibilities, where we start to understand where we need the player, the position we need, the characteristics we need. That has to be very clear internally right now. “The decision we made, to change a little bit our infrastructure, it is clear for me. I want to work with less people. I want to work with [analytics company] StatDNA a lot more, which we have internally here at the club and is very important. “The people I want to work with, I want them to be very close to me. I want to create a group of people working together. I don’t want individual people working in one area or for one country. I want a group working together. Less people with much more responsibilities.”

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