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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, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club 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 fielded his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The coach deployed an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.