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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved 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 achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager selected an entirely different side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.