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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's approach to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following 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 present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach deployed an entirely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

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