Oliver Glasner Hopes to Motivate Weary Palace as Revenge Versus Arsenal Awaits.

One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their manager.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on 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 possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.