Arsenal legend Paul Merson has slammed his old club and the people running it for the huge amount spent on the transfer of Thomas Partey while the club’s much-loved mascot Gunnersaurus has been made redundant.
The Gunners recently parted ways with the iconic dinosaur, performed by Jerry Quy, and it’s led to much criticism from around the footballing world.
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Mesut Ozil even offered to pay Gunnersaurus’ wages in order to keep him at the Emirates Stadium, as seen in the tweet below…
I was so sad that Jerry Quy aka our famous & 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… pic.twitter.com/IfWN38x62z
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) October 6, 2020
Partey looks an exciting signing that will strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad, but Merson was not at all happy with how Arsenal conducted themselves here.
It certainly seems hard to justify spending quite so much on one player in the squad whilst axing a long-serving figure at the club who brings so much joy to young supporters.
Merson did not hold back as he took aim at the north Londoners, writing in his column in the Daily Star: “It absolutely does my head in that they’ve got rid of him just to save money. How many other clubs, ones in the lower leagues who are really struggling, have done that?
“Even if they bring him back when fans are allowed back in the stadium, it’s a disgrace.
“If you’re making kids happy it doesn’t matter how much you’re on a week. And let’s be honest there are plenty of higher earners at Arsenal.
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“The people in charge don’t care about the fans. If they did, the first thing they would have said is: “We keep Jerry Quy.”
“They’ve just signed Thomas Partey for £45m. If he’s on £150,000-a-week, are you telling me they couldn’t have offered £149,000 and given the rest to the dinosaur?
“The club are putting money above the fans, above the things that are important. I can’t catch my breath if I’m being honest.
“I don’t think the people who run the club understand the club really.”