🔗 Share this article

One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was quickly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager selected an entirely different side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.