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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, 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 European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.