English Football Headlines: Hannibal Suspended for Spitting; City Boss Insists 'Back Line Must Improve'

This week's Premier League updates, a key midfielder has been issued a substantial ban, a head coach has pointed out a player's mistakes to make a point, and the Manchester City manager has demanded backline betterment following a chaotic victory.

Mejbri Handed Four-Match Suspension and Financial Penalty

The Clarets' player Hannibal Mejbri has been issued a four-game ban and a financial fine for improper behaviour during a recent match against Leeds United. The governing body stated the player was referred a separate regulatory commission following an incident where he spat towards visiting fans at the 67th point of a 2-0 victory by Burnley.

An FA release read: “A Regulatory Commission has sanctioned the Hannibal Mejbri due to misconduct in the Premier League game against Leeds of 18 October. The charge was that the player acted in breach of the laws 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.”

The statement continued, “Mejbri later admitted the allegation, with the Regulatory Commission handing down a four-game suspension and £15,000 after a hearing. The panel's full explanation for the sanction will be published in due course.” The team, currently 19th in the table, travel to 12th-place Newcastle this Saturday.

Maresca Points to Adarabioyo's Mistakes to Make an Argument

The Blues' head coach Enzo Maresca has stated that not having seasoned players is no a problem for his club, highlighting that centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo's years did not stop him from having a bad game in the defeat 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 presented his argument by singling out Tosin, the most experienced outfield player in the lineup, after he produced a mistake-riddled performance in central defence.

“We always mention experience when we fail to win,” Maresca said. “When we defeated Barcelona, we drew against Arsenal, nobody was talking about experienced personnel. I understand that if we don’t win, we are constantly looking for an explanation, but I think 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 in the match? Who was? Did he play good? So, it’s not about his age. It’s about those 11 players, they were simply not up to standard.”

3. Guardiola Says Defence 'Has to Improve'

The Manchester City manager has stated the champions have learnt from their midweek scare at Fulham and the game is now in the past. City held on for a 5-4 win in a incredible clash on Tuesday, having led 5-1 with almost an hour played.

This followed they fought off a comeback to win 3-2 in the previous fixture, it raised further doubts about whether they possess resilient enough to mount a title challenge against pace-setters Arsenal. “It’s forgotten,” he commented. “Good lessons, I hope. At this level, for every team, one must take onboard both good and bad performances and bad things and think of what's next.”

“Naturally I am worried,” he admitted. “We try to understand the cause, to not concede the goals. After conceding three scored by Leeds, and the five against Fulham you can see our sides, right? Therefore, we have we have done plenty of good things. Yet the number of shots on target did Leeds have? Three? They scored two. That ratio is good. How many attempts for Fulham have? Five, six? So, our ratio of chances conceded we can see too high. We have to be better.”

Newcastle Focus New Defenders' Contracts

The Magpies' new sporting director, Ross Wilson, has made contract negotiations with important backline players Tino Livramento and Sven Botman the priority on his to-do list for the club. Wilson arrived from Nottingham Forest recently and is reassured to learn midfielder Sandro Tonali has a deal extending until 2029 and, potentially, 2030.

That has left Wilson to focus on negotiations with Livramento and Botman's representatives. With the former’s current deal set to expire in 2027 and the latter’s a year later, the club's talks have assumed a certain importance.

“The initial three or four days after starting is when I found that Sandro’s contract situation was much more secure than the one I had thought,” said Wilson. “But it’s no secret that we wishes to extend Tino’s deal and also would want to renew Sven Botman’s too. Those discussions are underway.”

Manager Eddie Howe is without Botman against the match with Burnley this Saturday, and he expected to be sidelined for at least a further period.

Nuno Says Paquetá Will Start for West Ham

The Hammers' manager Nuno Espírito Santo has stated that Lucas Paquetá is back to the starting lineup when they play Brighton on Sunday, having completed his suspension for the sending-off against Liverpool.

“That incident is behind us,” Nuno remarked. “I am confident it will not happen again because he personally acknowledged the error. We discussed it internally. I am positive the matter is closed and will not happen again.”

He also understands the intense pressure facing his team, currently 18th ahead of Saturday's matches. “We can't ignore it,” he admitted. “It is the situation. We have to face it. We are battling for survival. We can't shy away from it.”

6. Arteta Impressed by Striker Deputy Merino

Mikel Merino could continue leading the line for Arsenal central striker despite their regular strikers return from injury. The midfielder has been deployed as a makeshift number nine because of fitness issues for Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

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