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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Leading 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 pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The coach fielded an entirely different side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" 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 streak versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.