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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view 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 chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.