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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several fatigued players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach selected an completely different side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move 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-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.