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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team 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 first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach fielded an entirely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

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