Daily Schmankerl: Hertha Berlin was prepared to make big moves; Gunnersaurus SACKED!; Sebastian Rudy escaped Schalke 04; Michaël Cuisance’s new look; and MORE!

Hertha was not messing around (kicker)

Aside of Hertha Berlin kicking the tires on Inter Milan’s Christian Eriksen, Die Alte Dame closely considered adding Mario Götze. While kicker reported that Eriksen did not want to make a move to Germany, the situation with Götze is more complicated.

It appears that some within the club see Götze’s value and potential, but two primary factors are causing hesitation among the sporting group as a whole regarding the former Borussia Dortmund player:

1) Disagreement on how much Götze has left to offer after a long career and some serious health issues.

2) A feeling that the extra attention and media scrutiny could overshadow a squad looking to make the leap into a top-six position this season.

Hertha Berlin could still ultimately sign Götze given his free agent status, but the hesitation clearly means not everyone in the organization is convinced that the 29-year-old would be worth it.

ICYMI: Bayern and a Portuguese phenom...what could go wrong? (Bavarian Football Works)

Late Monday, Bayern Munich was linked to Benfica prospect Tiago Dantas. The gist of the story is that Hansi Flick is a big fan of the 19-year-old and that the Bavarians were going to bring him in on a one-year loan. Conflicting reports out of Portugal had differing information on the deal having an option to buy the player.

Whatever the case, if this is true, let’s just hope it works out better than Renato Sanches did at Bayern Munich.

Man escapes raging dumpster fire (@tsghoffenheimEN)

Sebastian Rudy’s career has been a complete roller coaster ride since he left Hoffenheim back in 2017. With stops at Bayern Munich and Schalke 04, the 30-year-old midfielder has not quite found the same form he had when his play initially impressed the Bavarians so much that they brought him in.

Now, though, Rudy will have a chance to resurrect his career back at Hoffenheim. Surely, his exit from the mess occurring with Die Königsblauen could not come fast enough:

Rudy literally gave up half of his €6 million salary to make the move. Schalke 04 will pay half and Rudy forfeited the rest.

Digest that...

Out of work mascots feared to hit skid row (The Athletic)

In a shocking move, Arsenal has parted ways with its mascot, Gunnersauras. Somewhere, Berni is tipping a 40. Per the report:

Arsenal’s COVID-19 cuts have claimed another victim in the shape of dinosaur mascot Gunnersaurus. Jerry Quy, who has played the role since its inception in 1993, has been let go as part of the club’s ongoing streamlining process.

In August, Arsenal announced the decision to make 55 redundancies due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the club’s finances. Many departments have been affected, from scouting through to retail and marketing. As a part-time role, Quy’s departure is not counted among the 55, but is nevertheless part of the same cost-cutting process. The absence of fans has had a significant impact on a club who rely on match-day revenue more than their competitors — and with no supporters in the ground, Quy’s Gunnersaurus role has been deemed no longer necessary.

We, of course, had our own spin on this, but Sevilla might have had the tweet of the day on this topic:

Joking aside, it is awful to see anyone lose their job. Arsenal should be ashamed of themselves. Good luck to Jerry Quy!

Roca appreciates the welcome (@marcroca21)

Marc Roca is already feeling the love at Bayern Munich thanks to Thomas Muller:

Cuisance shows off his new garb (@MichaelCUISANCE)

The #StepOverKing in his new duds (being 44, I am legally not allowed to use the term “drip” or Interpol will hunt me down for breaking “Old Man Code”):