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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The coach fielded an completely different lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive 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 have an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.