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From the world of Premier League developments, a key player has been issued a significant suspension, a manager has pointed out a defender's errors to make an argument, and Pep Guardiola has demanded backline betterment following a chaotic win.

Mejbri Issued Four-Game Suspension and Financial Penalty

The Clarets' midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was handed a four-match suspension and a £15,000 penalty following misconduct in October's match versus Leeds United. The governing body stated the player was referred an independent regulatory commission following allegations of spitting towards away fans at the 67th point of a 2-0 victory by Burnley.

A statement said: “An independent disciplinary panel has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct during the top-flight match with Leeds of 18 October. It was alleged that the player behaved against the rules of football or in a poor way by using offensive and indecent conduct through spitting at or in the area of Leeds United fans.”

It added, “Mejbri subsequently accepted the allegation, with the panel handing down a four-game suspension and a fine after proceedings. The Regulatory Commission’s full explanation for the sanction are to be released at a later date.” The team, now in 19th place in the table, visit 12th-placed Newcastle this Saturday.

2. Maresca Points to Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Prove a Point

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has argued that a lack of experience is no an issue for his team, highlighting how centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not prevent the 28-year-old from playing poorly in a 3-1 defeat to Leeds United.

Maresca, who manages the youngest squad in the Premier League, rejected the idea that mentality played a part in their poor result. He made his case by criticising Tosin, Chelsea's oldest outfield player in the lineup, who produced a mistake-riddled display in central defence.

“People always mention experience when we drop points,” Maresca said. “After we beat Barcelona, we drew against Arsenal, nobody was mentioning experienced players. I know that if we don’t win, we are constantly searching for the reason why, but I think the reason why we lost to Leeds was not down to the experience, it was because we were not good enough.”

Maresca continued, “Who was the most senior player for us in the match? Who was? Was he any good? Therefore, it isn't related to experience. It's that those 11 players, they were simply not up to standard.”

Guardiola Says Defence 'Must Improve'

The Manchester City manager has insisted the champions have taken lessons from a recent thriller against Fulham and the episode is now in the past. City survived to claim a 5-4 win in a remarkable encounter on Tuesday, having led 5-1 with about an hour played.

This followed they fought off a Leeds fightback and won 3-2 in the previous fixture, it raised more questions about whether they possess resilient required to sustain a title challenge to leaders Arsenal. “It’s behind us,” he said. “Valuable learnings, I hope. At this level, at all the clubs, you have to take onboard both good and bad performances and bad things and focus on the next one.”

“Naturally I am worried,” Guardiola added. “We try to analyse what happened, so as not to concede so many goals. After conceding three against Leeds, and the five against Fulham you can see the two sides, correct? Therefore, we have done plenty of positive things. But the number of attempts did Leeds have? Three? Scored two. That ratio is good. How many attempts did Fulham have? Five, six? So our ratio of chances conceded we can see too high. We have to improve.”

4. Newcastle Prioritise New Defenders' Contracts

Newcastle United's new football chief, Ross Wilson, has placed new deal discussions involving key backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his to-do list at St James’ Park. He arrived from Nottingham Forest recently and was reassured to learn midfielder Sandro Tonali is on a contract that runs to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

That has left Wilson to focus on negotiations with Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s agreement ending in 2027 and Botman's a year later, Newcastle's talks are being treated with some importance.

“The initial few days in the job was when I found that Sandro’s contract situation was significantly more secure than the one I was expecting,” he stated. “However, it is well known that we wishes to extend Tino’s deal and we would want to extend Sven Botman’s too. These talks are ongoing.”

Head coach Eddie Howe will be without Botman against the home game with Burnley this Saturday, with the defender expected to remain sidelined for at least another week.

Nuno Says Paquetá Returns Against Brighton

West Ham head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed that Lucas Paquetá will return to start for the side face Brighton this Sunday, after serving a ban following a sending-off he received Liverpool.

“It is behind us,” the manager said. “I am positive it will not be repeated as he himself acknowledged his mistake. We discussed it about it in the dressing room. I believe the matter is closed and it will not happen again.”

Nuno also acknowledged the significant strain on his side, who are in the relegation zone before the weekend fixtures. “We cannot ignore it,” he admitted. “It's a reality. We have to face it. We're battling for survival. We cannot shy away from it.”

6. Arteta Impressed by No 9 Stand-in Merino

Mikel Merino may keep his place leading the line for Arsenal central striker even when the club's usual strikers return from injury. The midfielder has been deployed as a makeshift No 9 because of fitness issues to Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Merino found the net for Arsenal’s opener versus Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for the second in a 2-0 victory which preserved {their|