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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after 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 no longer the manager any more."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach fielded an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

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

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from 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-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

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