🔗 Share this article

One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager fielded an entirely different team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just 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 compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.