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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

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

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

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

The coach fielded an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager 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 only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.