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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from 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 have an eight-game winning run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.