Mesut Ozil has left Jack Whitehall with egg on his face after offering to pay to have Gunnersaurus reinstated as Arsenal mascot.
Jerry Quy, who played the role of Arsenal's mascot for 27 years, was made redundant on deadline day as part of a Covid-19 cost-cutting exercise.
Comedian Whitehall took to Twitter to comment on the story on Monday, saying: "This is so sad. Surely we just keep the costume and put Ozil in it?"
World Cup winner Ozil has this Tuesday responded by offering to pay Quy's wages for as long as he remains at Arsenal.
On Instagram, Ozil wrote: "I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous and 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 in his job that he loves so much."
Arsenal made the decision to let Gunnersaurus go because fans are currently not allowed inside stadiums on matchdays.
But axing Quy - a lifelong Gunners supporter - went down badly among the fanbase and former Arsenal players.
Paul Merson told Sky Sports: "Unbelievable. All them kids, the Junior Gunners, there will be 30 and 40-year-old fans who have grown up with that dinosaur. It's disappointing, I think it's poor by Arsenal, I really do."
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