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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory 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 barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager deployed an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive schedule ramps up.