Arsenal prepare to face Hull City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon following a narrow win over Slavia Prague in Europe

Mikel Arteta expects his Arsenal squad to shrug off their second-half performance against Slavia Prague as they face Hull City tomorrow.

The Gunners return to Premier League action with a home clash against the Tigers after narrowly escaping with a 2-1 win on Wednesday in the Champions League. Arteta was left frustrated by his side's slump as he said: "Right from the beginning of the half, we were extremely far from our standards, the basics, the concepts, and everything we discussed to avoid.

"It was far from what we expect from each other, but we found a way to hold onto the result and win the game."

The Spaniard is also looking ahead to the January transfer window as he targets a trio of Bournemouth stars to join his trophy-chasing squad. Here, football.london delves into the latest headlines coming out of the Emirates Stadium.

Bournemouth trio eyed

Arsenal are reportedly monitoring three of Bournemouth's key players as they plan a potential swoop on their Premier League rivals. TeamTalk states that Marcus Tavernier, Eli Junior Kroupi and Alex Scott are all presently on the Gunners' wishlist.

They claim that Arsenal have been gathering reports on Tavernier as they seek to upgrade the left side of their attack. The 27-year-old has found the net six times in 14 matches this season, displaying his adaptability across the midfield and forward line for the Cherries.

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Arsenal are longstanding admirers of Scott and Kroupi, who have a combined four goal contributions this campaign. The latter is one of the club's January targets but Bournemouth are reluctant to sell and they are likely to encounter competition from Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Scott has decided against signing a new deal with the Cherries and Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are all keen on his signature.

Arteta puts foot down

Arteta has rejected concerns about Rice's fitness, despite the 27-year-old displaying signs of fatigue in the second-half drop in quality against Slavia Prague. While the Gunners prevailed 2-1, the Spaniard highlighted a decline in standards where "basics" were lost by his players.

When asked about the decision to keep the midfielder on for the full 90, Arteta said: "The game required it, and he did. He was as well rested against Fleetwood so he had a very good week to recover before Liverpool.

"It's his second game in a week and not the fifth one. We expect our players to be able to do that and I think he had some very good moments throughout the game."

Not everyone agreed with this view, as former Arsenal star Karen Carney voiced worries about the club's dependence on Rice alone. She told TNT Sports: "Declan Rice is by far the best midfielder in the country, for me. When he's tired and fatigued they are a different team.

"In the second half he looked absolutely exhausted and then that's, for me, when Arsenal are a different team and they kind of lose their way a little bit. So that's something I'm a little bit concerned about because he's a top player but when his energy goes I think they slightly fall apart a bit."