🔗 Share this article

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. 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 selected his strongest team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach selected an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "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 opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.