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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The manager selected an completely changed side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive 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 have an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. 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 desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.