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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The manager selected an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.