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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an entirely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up 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 have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.