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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

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

The coach deployed an completely different lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule ramps up.