English Football Headlines: Mejbri Banned for Spitting; Guardiola Says 'Back Line Must Get Better'

From the world of English football updates, a significant midfielder has been issued a substantial ban, a head coach has pointed to a player's mistakes to make an argument, and the Manchester City manager has demanded defensive betterment after a chaotic win.

Mejbri Given Four-Game Ban and Financial Penalty

Burnley's midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has been handed a four-match suspension and a £15,000 penalty for improper behaviour in October's fixture against Leeds United. The governing body said the player faced an independent regulatory commission after allegations where he spat towards visiting fans around the 67-minute mark during a 2-0 victory by Burnley.

An FA statement explained: “An independent disciplinary panel has sanctioned the Hannibal Mejbri for his actions during their Premier League game against Leeds on 18 October. It was alleged that the player acted in breach of the laws of football or in a poor way and/or engaging in abusive and/or unacceptable behaviour through spitting towards the area of Leeds United fans.”

The statement added, “Mejbri later accepted the charge, and the Regulatory Commission imposed a four-match ban and a fine following a hearing. The panel's full explanation for the sanction are to be released at a later date.” Burnley, currently 19th in the table, visit 12th-place Newcastle on Saturday.

Maresca Points to Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Prove a Point

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has argued that not having experience is not an issue at club, pointing out how centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's age did not prevent him from playing poorly during the defeat to Leeds United.

The Italian coach, who oversees the youngest team in the division, rejected the idea that mentality was a factor in the poor result. He presented his argument by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's most experienced outfield player in the lineup, who delivered a mistake-riddled performance in central defence.

“We always talk about a lack of experience after we fail to win,” the coach said. “After we defeated Barcelona, the draw against Arsenal, nobody was mentioning experienced players. I understand that when we don’t win, we are always searching for an explanation, but I think the reason why we didn’t win to Leeds was not down to inexperience, it was because we were not good enough.”

He added, “Who was the oldest one on our team on the pitch? Who was? Was he any good? Therefore, it’s not about his age. It’s about those 11 men, they were simply not up to standard.”

Guardiola Says Defensive Solidity 'Has to Improve'

Pep Guardiola has insisted the champions have taken lessons from their recent scare at Fulham and the episode is now forgotten. The team held on to claim a 5-4 victory during a incredible encounter at Craven Cottage, after leading 5-1 with almost 60 minutes gone.

Coming after they fought off a fightback and won 3-2 in their previous game, it raised more questions regarding if they possess the defensive steel enough to mount a title challenge to leaders Arsenal. “That game is forgotten,” Guardiola commented. “Valuable learnings, I hope. At this level, for every team, one must learn from both good and bad performances and results and focus on the next one.”

“Of course I’m concerned,” Guardiola added. “We try to analyse what happened, to not concede the goals. With the three goals scored by Leeds, and five goals against Fulham it shows the two sides, correct? So, we have done plenty of good things. Yet how many shots on target did Leeds ? Three? Scored two. It’s not good. And shots on target did Fulham ? Five, six? So our ratio of chances conceded we can see is high. We have to improve.”

4. Newcastle Focus on Defenders' Deals

Newcastle United's new sporting director, Ross Wilson, has placed contract negotiations involving important backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman at the top of his to-do list at St James’ Park. Wilson joined from Nottingham Forest recently and is pleased to learn playmaker Sandro Tonali is on a contract extending to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

This allows Wilson free to prioritise negotiations with Livramento and Botman's representatives. Livramento's agreement ending in 2027 and Botman's a year later, Newcastle's talks are being treated with some importance.

“My first three or four days after starting is when I found that Sandro’s contract situation is much more secure than I was expecting,” said Wilson. “But it’s no secret that we would want to renew Tino’s deal and also wants to renew Sven Botman’s as well. Those discussions are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe will be without Botman for the match with Burnley on Saturday, with the defender likely to remain out for at least another week.

Nuno Confirms Paquetá Returns Against Brighton

West Ham head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá is back to start for the side play Brighton on Sunday, having completed his suspension for the red card against Liverpool.

“It is in the past,” Nuno said. “I am positive it won't be repeated as he himself admitted the error. We spoke internally. I believe the matter is closed and will not happen again.”

He also understands the significant pressure on his side, who are 18th ahead of Saturday's matches. “We can't ignore it,” he admitted. “It's the situation. We have to confront it. We're battling for survival. We cannot hide it.”

6. Arteta Pleased with No 9 Deputy Merino

The Spanish midfielder may keep his place as Arsenal’s central striker even when the club's usual strikers 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.

Merino found the net for Arsenal’s first goal against Brentford and set up Bukayo Saka for the second goal in a 2-0 win that maintained {their|