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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 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 against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an completely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" 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 like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.