Arsenal fans are in a weird place right now. Longtime manager Arsene Wenger is gone after 22 years, but a strong roster has been supplemented by positive moves in the summer transfer window under new coach Unai Emery.
There’s the hope new management can propel the talented team back into contention in England and Europe, but also the fear of slipping into irrelevance just as Manchester United struggled after the retirement of Alex Ferguson.
Fortunately, if ever the Gooners needed a positive omen, a massive one appeared on the banks of the Thames in front of London’s Tower Bridge on Wednesday.
This gorgeous Jeff Goldblum statue was erected to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the release of Jurassic Park, an advertising ploy by UK streaming service Now TV. It stands at about 10 feet tall, 23 feet long and 330 pounds and references everyone’s favorite scene from everyone’s favorite actor in Jurassic Park.
If ever there were an omen for Gunnersaurus, Arsenal’s lovable mascot, this is it — a massive statue paying homage to the greatest dinosaur movie of all time (and a pretty decent book).
This is clearly a sign for Arsenal fans because the similarities are endless.
Both Gunnersaurus and Jurassic Park (the movie) began in 1993. The film starring Jeff Goldblum was released in the UK on July 16, 1993, exactly 366 days before Gunnersaurus made his debut as Arsenal’s mascot following a contest the prior season. Jurassic Park is about dinosaurs and, obviously, Gunnersaurus is all about dinosaurs too. Since Arsenal switched from Nike to Puma kits, Gooners have seen plenty of nipples and everyone loves Jeff Goldblum’s nipples.
Thank you to everyone who made it down to my birthday party on Saturday
I had so much fun with all of my new friends and thank you @JuniorGunners for putting on such a lovely spreadIf you fancy checking out the highlights https://t.co/5vtzNn1PvN pic.twitter.com/Hs7rD2tP5k
— Gunnersaurus (@Gunnersaurus) July 17, 2018
So what does it all mean? Clearly Arsenal is going to win the Premier League this season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be a goal hawk like a fearsome velociraptor, Aaron Ramsey will control the tempo like a steady brontosaurus, Laurent Koscielny will eat up everything heading toward goal like a hungry T-Rex and Unai Emery will become more beloved than Jeff Goldblum himself. OK, maybe that last one is a bit far-fetched, but you get the idea.
Just because Arsene Wenger has retired doesn't mean the Gunners have to go extinct!