🔗 Share this article

One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after 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 repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak 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 subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.