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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie 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 must figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The coach fielded an completely different team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

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 decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven victories. 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 time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.