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This week's English football news, a key player was issued a lengthy ban, a head coach has pointed out a player's mistakes to make a point, and the Manchester City manager has called for defensive improvements following a wild win.

Mejbri Issued Four-Match Ban and Financial Penalty

Burnley's midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has been issued a four-game suspension and a £15,000 penalty following improper behaviour during a recent fixture against Leeds United. The governing body confirmed Mejbri faced an independent regulatory commission after allegations of spitting towards away fans around the 67th mark during a 2-0 victory for Burnley.

A statement said: “An independent disciplinary panel has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri due to his actions in the Premier League game with Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that the player behaved against the laws of football and/or in an improper way by using abusive and unacceptable conduct by spitting at or in the area of Leeds United fans.”

The statement continued, “Mejbri subsequently accepted the allegation, and the panel imposed a four-game suspension and £15,000 after a hearing. The Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for the sanction are to be released at a later date.” The team, now in 19th place in the standings, visit 12th-placed Newcastle on Saturday.

2. Maresca Singles Out Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Prove an Argument

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has stated that not having experience is not an issue for his club, pointing out that defender Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not prevent him from having poorly during a 3-1 defeat against Leeds United.

The Italian coach, who manages the youngest team in the Premier League, does not feel that mentality played a part in the poor result. He presented his case by singling out Tosin, the oldest player on the pitch, after he delivered a mistake-riddled performance at the back.

“We always talk about a lack of experience after we fail to win,” the coach said. “When we defeated Barcelona, the draw against Arsenal, nobody was mentioning older players. I know that if we lose, people are always searching for the reason why, but in my view why we didn’t win against Leeds was not down to the experience, it was because we just weren't at our best.”

He added, “Who was the most senior player for us on the pitch? Who was? Was he any good? Therefore, it isn't related to experience. It’s about those 11 players, they were simply not up to standard.”

3. Guardiola Insists Defensive Solidity 'Must Get Better'

Pep Guardiola has insisted his team have taken lessons from their midweek scare at Fulham and the episode has now been in the past. The team survived to claim a 5-4 win in a remarkable encounter at Craven Cottage, having led 5-1 with almost an hour played.

Coming after they fought off a fightback and won 3-2 in the prior fixture, it raised more questions regarding if City possess resilient required to mount a title challenge to leaders Arsenal. “It’s behind us,” Guardiola said. “Good lessons, I hope. At this level, at all the clubs, you have to learn from what happens performances and bad things and think of the next one.”

“Of course I’m concerned,” Guardiola added. “We are trying to understand what happened, to not allow the goals. With the three goals by Leeds, and five goals against Fulham it shows the two sides, right? So, always done plenty of good things. But the number of shots on target had Leeds ? Three? Scored two. It’s not good. How many attempts for Fulham have? Five, six? So, our ratio of chances conceded is too high. We must improve.”

4. Newcastle Prioritise New Livramento and Botman Deals

Newcastle United's recently appointed football chief, Ross Wilson, has placed new deal discussions involving important defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his agenda at St James’ Park. Wilson joined after leaving Nottingham Forest in October and was reassured to learn midfielder Sandro Tonali is on a deal extending until 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

This allows Wilson free to prioritise talks with Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s current deal ending in 2027 and the latter’s in 2028, the club's efforts have assumed some importance.

“The initial few days after starting was when I found that Sandro’s contract situation is significantly more secure than I was expecting,” he stated. “But it’s well known that we wishes to renew Tino’s contract and also wants to renew Sven Botman’s too. These talks are underway.”

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

5. Nuno Confirms Paquetá Returns for West Ham

West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed that Lucas Paquetá will return to the starting lineup when the side play Brighton on Sunday, after serving a ban for the sending-off he received Liverpool.

“It is in the past,” Nuno said. “I am positive it will not be repeated because he himself acknowledged his mistake. We discussed it about it internally. I believe the matter is closed and will not be repeated.”

Nuno also understands the significant pressure facing his team, currently 18th before Saturday's fixtures. “We cannot ignore it,” he admitted. “It is the situation. We have to confront it. We are fighting for our top-flight status. We can't shy away from it.”

6. Arteta Pleased with Striker Stand-in Merino

Mikel Merino could continue leading the line for Arsenal central striker despite their regular frontmen return from injury. The midfielder has been deployed as a makeshift number nine due to fitness issues to Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

He scored Arsenal’s opener versus Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for their second goal in a 2-0 win that maintained {their|