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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. 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 selected his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The coach deployed an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their final 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 jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted 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, looks set to start for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period ramps up.