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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

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 has brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager fielded an completely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.