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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended 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 half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

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

The coach fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested 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 semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.