🔗 Share this article

One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach deployed an entirely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

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

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.