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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match 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 figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The coach fielded an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist 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 be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

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

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.