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

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several weary squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach deployed an entirely changed side, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.