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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager deployed an entirely different team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after 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 potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.