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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The coach selected an completely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented 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 will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.