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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A 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 has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all season.

The manager fielded an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.