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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced 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 passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start 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 are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.