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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an entirely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on 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 a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.