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This week's Premier League news, a key player has been handed a lengthy suspension, a manager has singled out a player's mistakes to make an argument, and Pep Guardiola has demanded backline betterment after an erratic win.

Mejbri Given Four-Match Suspension and Fine

The Clarets' midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was given a four-game ban and a financial penalty following misconduct during October's match versus Leeds United. The governing body stated the player was referred a separate regulatory commission after allegations where he spat towards away supporters at the 67th mark of a 2-0 victory for Burnley.

A statement explained: “A disciplinary panel has punished Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri for his actions in their top-flight game with Leeds on 18 October. It was alleged that the player acted in breach of the rules of the game and/or in a poor way by engaging in offensive and/or unacceptable conduct through spitting at or in the direction of Leeds United fans.”

The statement added, “Mejbri later accepted the allegation, with the panel handing down a four-match ban and a fine after proceedings. The Regulatory Commission’s written reasons for its decisions will be published in due course.” The team, now 19th in the standings, travel to 12th-placed Newcastle on Saturday.

2. Maresca Singles Out Tosin's Errors to Make a Point

The Blues' head coach Enzo Maresca has stated that not having experience is no an issue for his club, pointing out how defender Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not prevent him from having a bad game during the loss to Leeds United.

Maresca, who manages the youngest squad in the Premier League, does not feel that inexperience was a factor in their poor result. He made his argument by singling out Tosin, Chelsea's oldest player in the lineup, who produced a mistake-riddled display at the back.

“People always talk about experience after we fail to win,” the coach stated. “After we defeated Barcelona, we drew with Arsenal, no one was talking about older players. I understand that if we don’t win, we are constantly looking for the reason why, but in my view the reason why we lost to Leeds is not because of the experience, it’s because we just weren't at our best.”

Maresca continued, “Who was the most senior player on our team on the pitch? It was Tosin. Did he play good? Therefore, it’s not about his age. It's that those 11 men, they were not up to standard.”

3. Guardiola Insists Defence 'Has to Improve'

Pep Guardiola has stated his team have taken lessons from their midweek scare at Fulham and the game is now forgotten. The team survived to claim a 5-4 win during a remarkable encounter at Craven Cottage, after leading 5-1 with almost an hour gone.

This followed they fought off a Leeds fightback to win 3-2 in the prior game, prompting further doubts about whether City possess the defensive steel enough to sustain a challenge to leaders Arsenal. “That game is behind us,” Guardiola commented. “Good learnings, hopefully. At this level, at all the clubs, one must take onboard what happens in the good things and bad things and think of the next one.”

“Naturally I’m concerned,” he admitted. “We are trying to analyse the cause, so as not to concede so many goals. After conceding three by Leeds, and five against Fulham it shows our versions, correct? Therefore, always we have done plenty of good things. Yet how many attempts had Leeds ? Three? They scored two. That ratio is bad. How many attempts did Fulham have? Five, six? So the average of shots conceded is too high. We must improve.”

Newcastle Prioritise on Defenders' Deals

The Magpies' recently appointed sporting director, Ross Wilson, has placed new deal discussions involving key defenders Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his to-do list for the club. He arrived after leaving Nottingham Forest in October and was reassured that playmaker Sandro Tonali has a contract extending to 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

That has left Wilson to prioritise negotiations with Livramento and Botman's agents. With the former’s agreement ending in 2027 and Botman's a year later, the club's talks are being treated with a certain urgency.

“My first three or four days after starting is when I discovered that Sandro’s deal is much better than the one I had thought,” said Wilson. “But it’s no secret that we would want to renew Tino’s deal and we would want to extend Sven Botman’s too. These talks are ongoing.”

Manager Eddie Howe is missing Botman for the home game against Burnley this Saturday, with the defender expected to be sidelined for a further period.

Nuno Confirms Paquetá Returns for West Ham

The Hammers' head coach Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed that Lucas Paquetá is back to the starting lineup for they play Brighton on Sunday, after serving a ban for the red card he received Liverpool.

“It is in the past,” the manager remarked. “I am positive it won't be repeated as he personally admitted his mistake. We discussed it about it in the dressing room. I believe it is over and will not happen again.”

He also acknowledged the significant pressure facing his team, who are in the relegation zone ahead of the weekend matches. “We can't ignore it,” he admitted. “It's the situation. We have to confront it. We're battling for survival. We can't shy away from it.”

6. Arteta Pleased with No 9 Stand-in Merino

Mikel Merino may keep his place leading the line for Arsenal central striker despite the club's usual frontmen are fit again. The midfielder has been playing as an emergency No 9 due to fitness issues to Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

Merino found the net for the first goal against Brentford before assisting Bukayo Saka for the second during a 2-0 victory which preserved {their|