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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

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 has ushered in the challenges of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. 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 cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following 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 be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.