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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 gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

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 has brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

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