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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The manager deployed an entirely different team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.