Oliver Glasner Hopes to Rally Jaded Crystal Palace as Revenge Versus Arsenal Beckons.

One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

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

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The coach fielded an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move 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-match 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 subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

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

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