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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach fielded an entirely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said 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 like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.