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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season 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. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager deployed an completely different team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against 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 forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "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 opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule ramps up.