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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial 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 revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager deployed an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice team, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial 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 have an eight-game unbeaten streak against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

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