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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The manager selected an completely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.