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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final 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 been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" 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 only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.