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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach fielded an completely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" 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 sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.