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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated 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 versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce 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 in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

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

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.