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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy 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 last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely changed team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus 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 suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

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

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.