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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several weary squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The coach deployed an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" after 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 possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.