Oliver Glasner Seeks to Energize Fatigued Crystal Palace as Revenge Against Arsenal Beckons.

One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for payback versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some weary squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach deployed an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then injury. 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. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.