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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion 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 four-one loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

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 has brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an completely different team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.