Glasner Aims to Motivate Jaded Crystal Palace as Revenge Versus Arsenal Looms.

You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach selected an completely different side, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

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 move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used 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 beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.