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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly rejected by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an completely different lineup, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period ramps up.