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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer 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 run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign 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 selected his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat 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 now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach deployed an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" 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 in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.