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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, 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 rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several weary squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The coach fielded an completely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.