Opinion

The honeymoon period is over. Welcome to Arsenal, Unai Emery.

The weight of Arsene Wenger's tenure as manager of Arsenal was finally being lifted, and a new era was set to begin for the Gunners and their fans after a summer World Cup to distract from the transition. Emery entered the 2018-19 season with modest signings, mostly senior players, but an expected gem in Lucas Torreira.

After the Premier League schedule makers did the club no favors, everyone expected the campaign to start off with two losses against Manchester City and Chelsea. 

The debate as to which footballer, at the height of their powers, reigned supreme will rage until the end of time. Pelé as a teenager? Diego Maradona at 26? O Fenômeno at 21? Take your pick and you’ll find more than enough evidence to support your claim.

But there’s never been anything like the consistent dominance of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo into their 30s. Yesterday, Messi notched his 400th league goal for Barcelona, making him sole-member of the club for players that’ve reached that milestone for one club in Europe’s top five leagues.

Leeds United defeated Derby County 2-0 on Friday to extend its lead atop the English League Championship to five points over Norwich. But all anyone wants to talk about is England’s version of SpyGate, with Leeds United spying on Derby on Thursday.

Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa admitted to having a staff member watch Derby County practice ahead of the Friday’s match, which pitted the No. 1 and No. 6 teams in England’s second division. 

The 2018-19 season has been packed full of drama, emotions and even comedy. What happens on the pitch is usually in focus — players making tackles, scoring goals, playing beautiful soccer; all of that takes the cake in media attention. But managers get that attention too. After a goal or an important moment in a match, the camera always pans to the manager, showing their jubilation, anger or their stoicness. 

January in MLS is full of combine matches, the SuperDraft, new player signings and the start of preseason. 2018 was a strong year for the league, between Atlanta's amazing run to the Cup (in front of 73,000 fans) to the arrival of Zlatan and Rooney to the expansion news for Miami, Nashville and Cincinnati, MLS made a lot of national noise. 

2019 is poised to be another year of growth as the league continues to make strides on and off the pitch. Here are five predictions for MLS in 2019. 

Christian Pulisic, a 20-year-old from Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the 25th most expensive player in the history of soccer. 

Really?

As much as we here at The18 love Christian Pulisic, we were a bit blown away by the fee he garnered on his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea this week. We understand why, but the more you look at it, the more absurd it appears. 

She said it, and viewers felt it, because NBCSN gets it.

“Best game of the season by a country mile,” Rebecca Lowe said as the NBCSN coverage of Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool moved from the announcers in the booth at the Etihad back to the studio analysts stateside. 

The best match of the season, perhaps the most important match of the season, had all the gravitas expected of such an event on Thursday because NBCSN continues to show it is the best soccer broadcaster in America.

We’ve got Mad Ants, Baby Cakes and Lights. There are Isotopes, Rowdies and Skyforce. And of course Steel, Go-Go and IronPigs. 

When you’re not the best at something, you’ve got to come up with unique ways to promote yourself. I know this first hand from trying to find a romantic partner. 

Minor league sports teams also know this well. It’s why lower-division clubs often have unique nicknames you just don’t find anywhere else.

So which of America’s top three lower divisions — in soccer, baseball and basketball — have the best team nicknames? 

What is cloudy, expensive and exciting?

The European transfer window! So stop wallowing in your post-summertime sadness, Lana Del Rey. Instead, get your calculator out, order a screen-protector and a coffee and start following daily transfer stories. Yes, they occur every day throughout January.