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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach deployed an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective 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 considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.