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This week's English football news, a significant midfielder has been given a substantial suspension, a head coach has singled out a defender's mistakes to make an argument, and Pep Guardiola has called for defensive betterment after a chaotic victory.

1. Mejbri Handed Four-Game Ban and Financial Penalty

Burnley's midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was given a four-match suspension and a £15,000 penalty for misconduct in a recent fixture against Leeds United. The Football Association confirmed Mejbri faced a separate regulatory commission after allegations of spitting in the direction of visiting supporters around the 67-minute point of a 2-0 victory by Burnley.

An FA release said: “A Regulatory Commission has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct in their top-flight match against Leeds on 18 October. The charge was that he acted in breach of the rules of football or in a poor manner and/or engaging in offensive and unacceptable behaviour by spitting towards the direction of Leeds United fans.”

The statement continued, “Mejbri later admitted the charge, with the Regulatory Commission imposed a four-match suspension and £15,000 following a hearing. The panel's written reasons for its decisions are to be released at a later date.” Burnley, now in 19th place in the standings, travel to 12th-placed Newcastle this Saturday.

Maresca Singles Out Adarabioyo's Errors to Make an Argument

The Blues' manager Enzo Maresca has stated that not having experience is no a problem at team, pointing out how defender Tosin Adarabioyo's age did not stop him from playing a bad game during the defeat against Leeds United.

The Italian coach, who oversees the youngest squad in the Premier League, rejected the idea that mentality played a part in their poor result. He presented his case by criticising Tosin, Chelsea's oldest outfield player on the pitch, who delivered a mistake-riddled performance at the back.

“We always mention a lack of experience after we drop points,” the coach said. “When we defeated Barcelona, the draw with Arsenal, nobody was talking about experienced personnel. I know that when we lose, we are always searching for an explanation, but in my view why we didn’t win against Leeds is not because of inexperience, it’s because we just weren't at our best.”

He added, “Who is the most senior player for us in the match? Who was? Did he play any good? So, it isn't related to experience. It’s about those 11 players, they were not good enough.”

3. Guardiola Says Defensive Solidity 'Has to Get Better'

Pep Guardiola has stated the champions have taken lessons from a recent thriller against Fulham and the episode has now been in the past. City survived for a 5-4 victory in a remarkable encounter at Craven Cottage, after leading 5-1 with about 60 minutes gone.

Coming after they resisted a fightback and won 3-2 in the previous fixture, it raised more questions regarding whether they possess resilient required to mount a challenge to leaders Arsenal. “That game is behind us,” he commented. “Good learnings, hopefully. In the Premier League, for every team, one must learn from what happens in the good things and results and focus on the next one.”

“Naturally I’m concerned,” he admitted. “We are trying to understand what happened, so as not to concede so many goals. With the three goals scored against Leeds, and five by Fulham it shows the two sides, right? Therefore, always done many good things. Yet the number of shots on target did Leeds ? Three? They scored two. That ratio is good. How many attempts for Fulham have? Five, six? So the average of chances conceded we can see too high. We have to improve.”

4. Newcastle Prioritise New Livramento and Botman Deals

Newcastle United's recently appointed sporting director, Ross Wilson, has made new deal discussions with important backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his agenda at St James’ Park. Wilson arrived from Nottingham Forest in October and was reassured to learn playmaker Sandro Tonali has a deal extending until 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

This allows Wilson free to prioritise negotiations for Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s agreement set to expire in 2027 and the latter’s in 2028, Newcastle's efforts have assumed some urgency.

“The initial few days in the job is when I found that Sandro’s deal was significantly better than I was expecting,” he stated. “However, it is no secret that we would want to extend Tino’s deal and we would want to renew Sven Botman’s as well. Those discussions are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe is missing Botman against the match with Burnley this Saturday, and he expected to be out for another week.

Nuno Confirms Paquetá Returns for West Ham

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

“It is in the past,” the manager said. “I am confident it won't be repeated because he personally acknowledged his mistake. We discussed it about it in the dressing room. I am positive it is over and it will not be repeated.”

Nuno also understands the significant strain on his side, who are in the relegation zone ahead of Saturday's fixtures. “We cannot ignore it,” he admitted. “It's the situation. We have to confront it. We are fighting for our top-flight status. We cannot shy away from it.”

6. Arteta Impressed by No 9 Stand-in Merino

The Spanish midfielder may keep his place as Arsenal’s central striker despite the club's usual frontmen return from injury. Merino has been deployed as a makeshift number nine due to injuries to Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

He scored the opener against Brentford and set up Bukayo Saka for the second goal during a 2-0 win which preserved {their|