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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season 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 picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager deployed an completely different side, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up 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 are on an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to get ready. 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 ready."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.