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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker 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 only full 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 competition so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.