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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European 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 demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.