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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, 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 pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an completely different side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven wins. 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 long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.