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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

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

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.