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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

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

There is a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach selected an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.