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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an entirely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.