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From the world of Premier League news, a significant midfielder has been given a lengthy ban, a head coach has singled to a defender's errors to make an argument, and the Manchester City manager has demanded backline improvements following a chaotic victory.

1. Mejbri Handed Four-Match Suspension and Financial Penalty

The Clarets' player Hannibal Mejbri has been issued a four-match ban and a £15,000 penalty for misconduct in October's fixture against Leeds United. The governing body stated the player faced an independent regulatory commission after an incident where he spat in the direction of away supporters around the 67th mark of a 2-0 win by Burnley.

A statement explained: “A disciplinary panel has punished Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct during their Premier League match against Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that the player acted in breach of the laws of football and/or in an improper manner and/or using offensive and indecent behaviour through spitting towards the area of Leeds United supporters.”

The statement continued, “Mejbri subsequently accepted the charge, and the panel imposed a four-game ban and a fine following proceedings. The panel's full explanation for its decisions will be published at a later date.” The team, now 19th in the Premier League standings, visit 12th-placed Newcastle this Saturday.

Maresca Singles Out Adarabioyo's Errors to Make a Point

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has argued that a lack of experience is not an issue at team, highlighting how centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not stop him from playing a bad game during a 3-1 loss against Leeds United.

Maresca, who oversees the most youthful team in the Premier League, rejected the idea that inexperience played a part in their poor result. He made his case by criticising Tosin, the most experienced outfield player on the pitch, after he produced a mistake-riddled display in central defence.

“People always mention experience when we drop points,” Maresca said. “When we defeated Barcelona, the draw against Arsenal, nobody was talking about older personnel. I understand that if we don’t win, people are constantly looking for an explanation, but in my view the reason why we lost to Leeds is not because of inexperience, it was because we just weren't at our best.”

Maresca continued, “Who was the oldest one for us on the pitch? It was Tosin. Was he good? Therefore, it’s not about experience. It’s about those 11 players, they were not up to standard.”

Guardiola Insists Defence 'Has to Improve'

Pep Guardiola has stated his team have learnt from their recent thriller against Fulham and the game has now been forgotten. City survived for a 5-4 victory during a incredible encounter on Tuesday, after leading 5-1 with about 60 minutes played.

Coming after they resisted a Leeds fightback to win 3-2 in their previous game, prompting further doubts about whether City are resilient enough to sustain a challenge to leaders Arsenal. “It’s forgotten,” he commented. “Good learnings, hopefully. At this level, at all the clubs, one must learn from what happens in the good things and bad things and focus on the next one.”

“Of course I’m concerned,” Guardiola added. “We are trying to understand the cause, so as not to concede so many goals. With the three goals scored against Leeds, and the five goals against Fulham you can see our sides, right? So, always we have done plenty of positive things. Yet how many shots on target did Leeds ? Three? Scored two. That ratio is good. And shots on target for Fulham have? Five, six? So our ratio of shots conceded we can see too high. We have to be better.”

4. Newcastle Focus on Livramento and Botman Deals

The Magpies' new sporting director, Ross Wilson, has made new deal discussions with key backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his agenda at St James’ Park. He joined after leaving Nottingham Forest in October and is reassured to learn playmaker Sandro Tonali is on a deal extending to 2029 with an option until 2030.

This allows Wilson free to prioritise talks for Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s agreement ending in 2027 and the latter’s a year later, the club's efforts have assumed a certain urgency.

“The initial three or four days in the job is when I discovered that Sandro’s deal is significantly better than the one I had thought,” he stated. “However, it is no secret that we would want to extend Tino’s deal and we would want to extend Sven Botman’s too. These talks are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe will be missing Botman for the home game against Burnley on Saturday, and he expected to be out for another week.

Nuno Says Paquetá Returns Against Brighton

The Hammers' head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá will return to the starting lineup when the side face Brighton on Sunday, having completed his suspension following a red card he received Liverpool.

“That incident is in the past,” Nuno said. “I am positive it won't happen again because he himself admitted the error. We discussed it internally. I believe it is over and it will not happen again.”

He also acknowledged the intense pressure facing his team, currently in the relegation zone before Saturday's fixtures. “We can't ignore it,” he admitted. “It's the situation. We must face it. We are fighting for survival. We can't hide it.”

6. Arteta Impressed by No 9 Deputy Merino

The Spanish midfielder could continue as Arsenal’s central striker despite the club's usual strikers return from injury. The midfielder has been deployed as a makeshift No 9 because of injuries for Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

He scored Arsenal’s first goal against Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for their second goal in a 2-0 victory that maintained {their|