Twas the night before St. Totts and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not Geordie nor scouse
The scarves they were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that The Arsenal soon would be there
The players were all lined up in 3-5-2
While visions of goals and assists they had too
Arsene in his jacket, and Pat in his shorts
Had just settled down for an evening of sports
When out on the pitch there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my seat to see what was the matter
Away to the fridge I ran with a dash
Tore open the door and pulled out a Green Flash
The lights on the green of the freshly mown pitch
Gave a luster of wonder to a green oh so rich
When what to my wondering eyes did appear
But a dinosaur mascot, and eleven to cheer
With a crafty old boss man so sharp and so quick
I knew in a moment Arsene's in good nick
More rapid than eagles, his players they came
And he whistled and shouted, and called them by name
"Now Alex! Now Oli! Now Sanchez and Per!"
On Laurent, on Mesut, of the ball please take care!"
"To the edge of the pitch, to the goal with the ball
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
And then, in a twinkling, I heard and I saw
The passing and moving around of the ball
As I looked on in awe, and was turning around
Down the tunnel St. Arsene, he came with a bound
He was dressed in a suit, from his head to his shoes
Over that was a jacket, which just isn't news
A bottle of water he held in his hand
And he looked...well, let's face it, he looked rather grand
His eyes, how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
Though he has not a beard, he looks pretty good, you know
The notes on his players, he held in his hand
And the thoughts on formations did reporters demand
He has a kind face and a wicked old grin
That sharpens as critics decide to hone in
He's tall and he's lean, a right fit old elf
And I smiled when I saw him, in spite of myself
A wink of his eye and a nod of his head
Soon showed me today I had nothing to dread
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work
And worked out his players, then turned with a jerk
He unzipped his jacket, on the first try - nice job!
And walked to the bench 'midst the braying home mob
He sprang to his feet as Olivier scored
And away they all ran, overjoyed, wanting more
I did hear him exclaim, as he sat out of sight
"Happy St. Totts To All, And To All A Good Night!"
LINEUPS:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal">@Arsenal</a> team to play Hull: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Giroud <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HCFCvAFC?src=hash">#HCFCvAFC</a></p>— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/595286773485465603">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal">@Arsenal</a> subs: Szczesny, Gibbs, Gabriel, Flamini, Wilshere, Rosicky, Walcott <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HCFCvAFC?src=hash">#HCFCvAFC</a></p>— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/595286798860955648">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TEAM NEWS: Here's the <a href="https://twitter.com/HullCity">@HullCity</a> team to face <a href="https://twitter.com/Arsenal">@Arsenal</a> in tonight’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MNF?src=hash">#MNF</a> clash at the KC Stadium <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HULARS?src=hash">#HULARS</a> <a href="http://t.co/jspPpPdL6k">pic.twitter.com/jspPpPdL6k</a></p>— Hull City (@HullCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/HullCity/status/595286337206546432">May 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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