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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager deployed an entirely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances 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 versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

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

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.