🔗 Share this article

You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. 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 selected his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for revenge against 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. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The coach selected an entirely different lineup, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season'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 since that injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. 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 prepared."

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