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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 gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager selected an entirely different team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.