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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first 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. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

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

The coach selected an completely changed side, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle 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 versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce 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 possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.