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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. 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 fielded his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach deployed an completely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select 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, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.