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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting 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, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all season.

The manager selected an completely changed lineup, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means 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 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."

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