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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest 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, due to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager fielded an completely changed side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition 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 just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.