Glasner Seeks to Rally Fatigued Crystal Palace as Payback Against The Gunners Beckons.

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The coach selected an completely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have 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 later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies 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 rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.