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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

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

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao 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 assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The coach deployed an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled 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 situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.