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From the world of English football news, a notable player has been handed a substantial ban, a manager has singled to a player's errors to make an argument, and Pep Guardiola has demanded defensive improvements following a wild victory.

Mejbri Handed Four-Game Ban and Financial Penalty

The Clarets' player Hannibal Mejbri was given a four-game ban and a financial fine following improper behaviour in October's fixture versus Leeds United. The Football Association confirmed Mejbri faced an independent regulatory commission after allegations where he spat towards away supporters around the 67th mark of a 2-0 victory for Burnley.

A statement explained: “A Regulatory Commission has punished Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri due to misconduct in the Premier League game against Leeds on 18 October. It was alleged that the player behaved in breach of the laws of the game or in an improper manner and/or engaging in abusive and unacceptable behaviour through spitting at or in the area of Leeds United supporters.”

It added, “Mejbri later accepted the charge, and the Regulatory Commission handing down a four-game ban and a fine following a hearing. The panel's written reasons for its decisions will be published at a later date.” Burnley, now 19th in the Premier League standings, visit 12th-place Newcastle this Saturday.

2. Maresca Singles Out Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Make a Point

The Blues' head coach Enzo Maresca has argued that a lack of seasoned players is not a problem for his team, pointing out how centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not stop the 28-year-old from playing poorly in a 3-1 loss against Leeds United.

The Italian coach, who oversees the most youthful squad in the Premier League, does not feel that mentality was a factor in their poor result. He made his case by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's oldest player on the pitch, who produced an error-strewn display in central defence.

“People always mention a lack of experience when we fail to win,” the coach said. “After we defeated Barcelona, the draw against Arsenal, nobody was mentioning experienced players. I know that when we don’t win, we are constantly looking for an explanation, but in my view why we didn’t win against Leeds is not because of inexperience, it’s because we were not at our best.”

Maresca continued, “Who was the oldest one on our team in the match? It was Tosin. Was he good? Therefore, it isn't related to his age. It's that those 11 players, they were not up to standard.”

3. Guardiola Insists Defence 'Must Improve'

The Manchester City manager has stated his team have learnt from a recent scare against Fulham and the game has now been in the past. City survived to claim a 5-4 victory during a remarkable encounter on Tuesday, having led 5-1 with almost 60 minutes played.

Coming after they resisted a Leeds comeback to win 3-2 in their prior fixture, it raised further doubts about if City are the defensive steel enough to sustain a challenge against pace-setters Arsenal. “It’s forgotten,” he said. “Valuable lessons, I hope. At this level, for every team, you have to take onboard both good and bad in the good things and results and think of the next one.”

“Of course I’m concerned,” Guardiola added. “We are trying to understand the cause, to not allow so many goals. After conceding three scored by Leeds, and five goals by Fulham you can see our sides, right? So, always we have done many good things. Yet how many attempts did Leeds ? Three? They scored two. It’s not good. And attempts for Fulham ? Five, six? So our ratio of chances conceded is is high. We must improve.”

4. Newcastle Focus New Defenders' Contracts

The Magpies' new sporting director, Ross Wilson, has placed new deal negotiations involving key defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his agenda at St James’ Park. Wilson joined after leaving Nottingham Forest recently and is pleased to learn playmaker Sandro Tonali is on a contract extending until 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

This allows Wilson to prioritise talks for Livramento and Botman's agents. With the former’s agreement ending in 2027 and the latter’s in 2028, Newcastle's talks have assumed some urgency.

“The initial few days in the job was when I discovered that Sandro’s contract situation was significantly more secure than I had thought,” said Wilson. “But it’s no secret that we wishes to extend Tino’s deal and we would want to renew Sven Botman’s as well. These talks are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe is missing Botman against the home game against Burnley on Saturday, with the defender likely to be out for at least another week.

5. Nuno Says Paquetá Will Start Against Brighton

West Ham head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá will return to start for they play Brighton this Sunday, after serving a ban following a sending-off against Liverpool.

“It is in the past,” the manager remarked. “I am confident it will not be repeated because he himself admitted his mistake. We discussed it internally. I am positive the matter is closed and it will not be repeated.”

Nuno also acknowledged the significant strain on his side, currently 18th ahead of Saturday's fixtures. “We cannot avoid it,” he said. “It is a reality. We have to face it. We're battling for survival. We cannot hide it.”

Arteta Pleased with Striker Stand-in Merino

Mikel Merino could continue as Arsenal’s centre-forward despite their regular frontmen are fit again. Merino has been playing as an emergency No 9 because of fitness issues for Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

He scored the opener versus Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for the second during a 2-0 win which preserved {their|