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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The coach fielded an completely changed lineup, 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 team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie 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 "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

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

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.