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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The manager fielded an entirely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

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

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.