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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager deployed an entirely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players returning from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.