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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager selected an completely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after 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 potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy 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 like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.