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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat 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 figure out a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The manager deployed an completely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from 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 repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.