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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, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first 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 assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter 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 half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first 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 catching up with several weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach fielded an completely different side, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after 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 situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run versus 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 time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward 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 sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

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