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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest lineup 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 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only full 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 semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

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