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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. 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 picked his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for 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, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The manager deployed an completely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial 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 are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward 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 period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule ramps up.