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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could prioritize other competitions was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions 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 charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his best side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The manager fielded an entirely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

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

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" 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 get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.