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

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several weary squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager selected an completely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

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 pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule ramps up.