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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. 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 taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The manager fielded an completely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.