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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The coach fielded an entirely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off 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 available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think 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 last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.