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From the world of top-flight developments, a significant player was issued a lengthy ban, a head coach has pointed out a defender's mistakes to make an argument, and the Manchester City manager has demanded backline improvements following a chaotic victory.

Mejbri Issued Four-Match Ban and Financial Penalty

The Clarets' midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was issued a four-game suspension and a £15,000 penalty for improper behaviour during October's fixture versus Leeds United. The Football Association said the player was referred an independent disciplinary panel following an incident of spitting in the direction of away fans around the 67-minute point of a 2-0 win for Burnley.

A statement read: “A Regulatory Commission has sanctioned Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for misconduct in their Premier League match with Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that he acted in breach of the rules of football or in a poor way and/or engaging in abusive and/or indecent behaviour by spitting at or in the area of Leeds United fans.”

It added, “Mejbri later accepted the allegation, and the panel handing down a four-game ban and £15,000 after a hearing. The panel's full explanation for the sanction are to be released in due course.” Burnley, now 19th in the table, visit 12th-place Newcastle this Saturday.

Maresca Singles Out Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Prove an Argument

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has argued that not having seasoned players is not a problem at team, pointing out that centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's age did not prevent him from having poorly in the defeat to Leeds United.

The Italian coach, who oversees the most youthful team in the division, does not feel that mentality was a factor in the setback. He made his argument by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's oldest player on the pitch, who delivered an error-strewn performance at the back.

“People always mention experience when we fail to win,” Maresca said. “After we beat Barcelona, we drew with Arsenal, nobody was mentioning older personnel. I understand that when we don’t win, people are constantly looking for an explanation, but in my view the reason why we didn’t win to Leeds is not because of inexperience, it was because we just weren't 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 men, they were simply not up to standard.”

3. Guardiola Says Defence 'Must Get Better'

Pep Guardiola has insisted the champions have learnt from their midweek scare at Fulham with the game is now forgotten. The team held on for a 5-4 victory during a remarkable clash on Tuesday, after leading 5-1 with about 60 minutes played.

This followed they fought off a fightback to win 3-2 in the previous fixture, it raised more questions regarding whether they possess resilient required to mount a challenge against pace-setters Arsenal. “It’s forgotten,” he commented. “Valuable learnings, hopefully. At this level, at all the clubs, you have to take onboard both good and bad in the good things and bad things and think of the next one.”

“Naturally I’m concerned,” he admitted. “We try to understand the cause, so as not to concede so many goals. After conceding three by Leeds, and five goals by Fulham you can see the two sides, right? So, always done many good things. But the number of attempts had Leeds ? Three? They scored two. It’s not bad. How many attempts did Fulham ? Five, six? So, the average of shots conceded is too high. We have to improve.”

Newcastle Focus on Defenders' Contracts

The Magpies' new football chief, Ross Wilson, has made new deal negotiations with key defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his agenda at St James’ Park. Wilson arrived from Nottingham Forest in October and is pleased to learn midfielder Sandro Tonali is on a contract extending to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

This allows Wilson free to prioritise negotiations for Livramento and Botman's agents. Livramento's current deal ending in 2027 and the latter’s a year later, Newcastle's talks are being treated with some importance.

“The initial three or four days in the job is when I found that Sandro’s contract situation is much better than the one I had thought,” said Wilson. “But it’s well known that we would want to renew Tino’s deal and also would want to extend Sven Botman’s too. These talks are ongoing.”

Head coach Eddie Howe will be missing Botman against the home game with Burnley this Saturday, with the defender likely to remain out for another week.

Nuno Says Paquetá Returns for West Ham

The Hammers' head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá will return to start when they face Brighton this Sunday, having completed a ban following a sending-off against Liverpool.

“That incident is behind us,” Nuno said. “I am positive it will not happen again because he personally admitted his mistake. We spoke in the dressing room. I believe the matter is closed and will not happen again.”

He also acknowledged the intense pressure on his side, currently 18th before the weekend fixtures. “We can't ignore it,” he admitted. “It is a reality. We have to face it. We are battling for our top-flight status. We can't hide it.”

Arteta Pleased with No 9 Stand-in Merino

Mikel Merino may keep his place leading the line for Arsenal centre-forward despite the club's usual frontmen return from injury. Merino has been deployed as a makeshift number nine due to injuries for Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Merino found the net for the opener versus Brentford and set up Bukayo Saka for the second in a 2-0 win which preserved {their|