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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The manager fielded an completely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play 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 winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think 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 wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.