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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an entirely different team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager 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 only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.