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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat 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 now faces the task to devise a plan for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager deployed an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle 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 implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that 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 congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period ramps up.