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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign 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 picked his strongest lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all term.

The coach deployed an entirely different side, including four youngsters, 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 preferred team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented 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 opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.