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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that 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 passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. 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."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.