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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager selected an entirely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy 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 last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.