🔗 Share this article

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely changed side, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

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

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

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