Oliver Glasner Seeks to Motivate Weary Palace as Revenge Versus Arsenal Beckons.

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach deployed an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several 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 "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period intensifies.