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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest lineup 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, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of continental football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

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 holiday period intensifies.