Arsenal

Ray Parlour hits out at Arsenal's Mesut Ozil for "PR stunt"

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 09 October 2020

Arsenal legend Ray Parlour believes that Mesut Ozil's offer to reimburse the salary of Jerry Quy is nothing more than a "PR stunt" to get the fans on his side.

Former Arsenal man Ray Parlour has claimed that Mesut Ozil's offer to reimburse the salary of Jerry Quy - the Gunnersaurus mascot - is nothing more than a "PR stunt".

Arsenal recently announced that Quy - who had donned the green dinosaur outfit for the past 27 years - was being made redundant as part of further cost-cutting measures in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gunners have said that their famous mascot will return when fans are allowed back into stadiums, but Ozil, who has been omitted from Arsenal's Europa League group-stage squad, took to Twitter to offer to reimburse Quy's salary.

The gesture has not sat well with Parlour, though, who told talkSPORT: "It is [a PR stunt], yeah. I wish Gunnersaurus was on £300,000-a-week because they'd get their money's worth.

"It's nothing he's done to me, but I reckon it's a very good PR stunt. Don't you think? Behind the scenes, to get the fans back on his side, let's do that."

Ozil has not taken to the pitch for Arsenal since March - before the coronavirus lockdown - but the German has frequently reiterated his desire to see out the final months of his contract, which will expire next summer.