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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The coach fielded an completely different side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on 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 potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.