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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The coach selected an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.