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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.