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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely different team, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was compelled 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 "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining 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 signifies to him.

"We're accustomed 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 will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

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