Glasner Aims to Motivate Jaded Palace as Revenge Versus The Gunners Looms.

You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach fielded an entirely changed team, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his preferred side, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive schedule intensifies.