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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager deployed an completely different team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a second 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 compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.