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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, 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 continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager fielded an entirely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.