Oliver Glasner Seeks to Rally Jaded Crystal Palace as Revenge Against The Gunners Awaits.

One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The coach selected an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

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

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.