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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach selected an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of 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 decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward 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 sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.