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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

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

The manager selected an completely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on 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 have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

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