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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their boss.

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

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture 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 achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden 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 taking a toll on several weary squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager deployed an entirely different lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from 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 in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.