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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

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

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach fielded an completely changed team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move 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-match unbeaten run against Palace, featuring 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, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.