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One might forgive 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 29th fixture of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was quickly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first 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 picked his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat 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 against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.