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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of 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 notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, 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 rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The coach deployed an completely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive 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-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. 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 long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive schedule ramps up.