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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, 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 club had previously been eliminated 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 side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The coach selected an entirely different side, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka came off 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 scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

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

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "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 opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.