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Everyone loves a mascot, and Arsenal have taken that a step further than most with the addition of Win – their chocolate Labrador who spends her days at their London Colney training ground.
Win was part of the squad's annual photoshoot just days before she inspired their victory over PSV on their return to the Champions League. However, Win isn't the only famous animal in sports.
And Daily Star Sport is having a look at six animals who have captivated sports – from a heroic dog who saved the World Cup to a bird who was the talk of the town at the Crucible.
READ MORE: Arsenal 'eyeing up move for exciting 19-year-old star dubbed the next Jude Bellingham'
LATEST: Get all the latest Arsenal news, views and opinions with the Daily Star
Win
It's tough competition to become Arsenal's top dog, if you'll pardon the pun, and Win has had to beat out competition from fellow a animal (sort of) in Gunnersaurus.
Arteta revealed: "I carefully chose the dog and in my opinion it’s the perfect representative of who we are right now. Her name is Win, we all love winning and Win needs a lot of love. So the love for Win, that was basically the feeling."
“The reaction from the players and the staff has been incredible, she is one of us. She is going to be on this journey with us together. It’s something that changes your mood like this [clicks fingers]. She gives you all the love and suddenly you feel the energy of the place!"
What do you think of Arsenal's new pet dog? Let us know in the comments section
Pickles
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Pickles the dog once accidentally saved the World Cup. In 1966, a few months before the World Cup kicked off on these shores, the trophy had gone missing.
Fortunately for Bobby Moore, who would eventually go on to lift the trophy, Dave Corbett decided to walk Pickles around south London. Dave noticed Pickles running around a car, he went to investigate and ended up discovering the Jules Rimet trophy wrapped in newspaper.
Sadly, Pickles passed away in 1967. Dave added: "He was a perfect dog, except he didn't like cats."
Snooker World Championship pigeon
For a few minutes at the Snooker World Championships in 2022, one singular pigeon was the talk of the UK.
In a second round match between Mark Selby and Yan Bingtao, a pigeon brought a halt to proceedings when it landed on the baize. The bizarre images quickly went viral on social media, with the pigeon even having its own accounts set up on Twitter, now X.
Tournament officials later confirmed it had been captured and released unharmed. Unfortunately, we never got to witness those. We can only imagine it would have been comedic gold.
Paul the Octopus
Paul the Octopus once received death threats. Yes, you read that right. A group of Argentina fans threatened to turn him into paella – all because he correctly predicted their loss to Germany.
He shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup, where he correctly predicted a variety of results throughoutthe tournament. Paul's fame grew worldwide from his native Germany – and his prediction for Spain and Germany was streamed on national television. And the octopus horrified German viewers, correctly predicting a Spanish victory.
Anyway, back to the Argentine fans, they published in a paper: "All you need is four normal potatoes, olive oil for taste and a little pepper."
Roscoe Hamilton
Roscoe Hamilton regularly steals the show in the F1 pit lane, but the dog's fame goes much deeper than just being a minor celebrity.
Roscoe has his own Instagram account, and he reportedly earns $700 (£570) per day from modelling. As well as stealing the show on social media, Roscoe is also a vegan.
“Roscoe is now part of a modelling agency and he has auditions, he will go up against ten or 15 different bulldogs, they will need a bulldog for a product,” Lewis Hamilton told Silver Arrows. "He gets paid $700 dollars a day, it’s ridiculous, and he gets his treat, he loves it."
Hulk
Hulk certainly lives up to his name with his size, and Lionel Messi's dog has been a big part of his social media in recent years.
He earned his own bit of media coverage when his owner won the World Cup in December. In bizarre scenes, Hulk was celebrated by a group of Argentine fans when the touch touched down in South America after their win.
Hulk hasn't joined Messi stateside, when he swapped PSG for Inter Miami over the summer, due to reports of his deteriorating health.
- Premier League
- Champions League
- Arsenal FC
- World Cup
- Snooker
- F1
- Lewis Hamilton
- Lionel Messi
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