🔗 Share this article

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

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 ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager selected an completely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually 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 circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted 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 start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

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