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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

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 subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager fielded an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

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