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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously 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 fielded his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The coach deployed an completely different team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. 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 comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "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."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule ramps up.