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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up 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, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

The Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some weary squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The coach fielded an entirely different side, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled 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 "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "In my view 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 semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.