You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their manager.
"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."
There is a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.
That prior last-eight match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.
The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion
Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.
The manager deployed an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.
Arsenal's Perspective and Team Dilemmas
For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. 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 only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly harmed their title aspirations.
Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to bring on 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 situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.
Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.
"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."
Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.
