Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus has made his first public appearance since the man inside the costume was made redundant by the club last month.
Jerry Quy has portrayed Gunnersaurus for the past 27 years, but was made redundant as part of a job-cutting scheme implemented by Arsenal in the summer - inspiring fundraisers and an offer for his wages to be paid in full by Gunners midfielder Mesut Ozil.
On Tuesday the character's Twitter account posted a photo from the Emirates Stadium, but it is uncertain who is playing Gunnersaurus in the image.
It's understood there is a roster of people now filling the role of Gunnersaurus and the club offered Quy to be a part of this.
Back at Emirates Stadium today 👍 pic.twitter.com/NF7FcNWYhI
— Gunnersaurus (@Gunnersaurus) November 10, 2020
An Arsenal spokesperson said: "As 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."
The post received over 40,000 likes less than an hour after being posted, with many fans appearing to believe the mascot itself had been set not to return and welcoming him back.
Ozil, who reportedly earns £350,000 a week, offered to pay for the "famous and loyal mascot" to continue as long as he plays for Arsenal.
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Watch the Republic of Ireland's Wembley friendly against England this Thursday with coverage beginning on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player at 7.30pm.
