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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments compared 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 charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach selected an entirely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only 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 tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.