The commentators may mention it in passing, but their tone will indicate that the hyperbole is not to be punctured.
And if Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta try to point it out before Manchester City faces Arsenal on Sunday, it will be viewed as gamesmanship, or deflection, or unapologetic sophistry.
Still, it is true: The meeting between City and Arsenal will not provide the deciding, defining moment in the Premier League’s most compelling title race in a decade.
It is a game of glowering significance and considerable heft, of course, a chance for one team to clear a towering, looming hurdle.
There is a better than even chance that by the time the whistle is blown at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday night, neither of them will be top of the league.
Persons:
Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta
Organizations:
Manchester City, Arsenal, Premier, Etihad
Locations:
City