Glasner Aims to Motivate Weary Crystal Palace as Payback Against Arsenal Awaits.

One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach fielded an entirely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful 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 Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.