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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season 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 side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The coach selected an entirely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match 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 "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.