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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight 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 selected his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. 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 moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The manager deployed an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following 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 possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted 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 setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

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