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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss 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 revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

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

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.