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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an completely changed side, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority 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 said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was forced 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.