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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly 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 strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

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 ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely different team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said 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 similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.