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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was quickly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The coach selected an completely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie 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 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 unbeaten run versus Palace, featuring 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 serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.