Paper Round: Seaman fears Arsenal could lose Sanchez and Ozil

The Daily Mirror carries advice from ex-Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman for current manager Arsene Wenger. As the Frenchman and Arsenal try to tie both the players down to new contracts, Seaman said, “If Arsenal lost Sanchez now, they would have to spend a colossal amount of money, maybe £50-60 million, to bring in a replacement of his quality. Why not just go the extra mile to keep him and Ozil at Arsenal? " The two players both have 18 months to run on their current deals.

Paper Round's view: Wenger has departed from his previous austerity by, generally, adding one player of serious quality each season. Sanchez, Ozil, Petr Cech and most recently Granit Xhaka are at the club because of the change in policy. However, it has not yet allowed them to revive the club following the loss of players such as Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Thierry Henry and others. Wenger must keep adding, of course, but if he loses both or either of these players it only serves to delay the necessary improvement.

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According to a story in the The Times, the Russia doping scandal could extend back to the 2012 London Olympics. A Wada report says that a government-sponsored doping programme may have taken in over 1,000 Russian athletes, and that this has 'corrupted' the London Olympics. The author of the report, Professor McLaren said: "The Russian Olympic team corrupted the London Games on an unprecedented scale, the extent of which will probably never be fully established."

Paper Round's view: If this report is believed by the IOC, then they will face a tough choice about how to deal with the Russian Olympic team, in the past and in future. It is hard to give credit to any Russian achievement, perhaps ever, when seen in this light. Given the Russians are currently implicated in rigging the US elections, it is hard to imagine that they could be trusted with something like future athletic international involvement, too. Further, if Russia is involved in such a plan, they are unlikely to be the only country doing the same.

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has defended his striker Sergio Aguero after he was sent off for the second time this season. Aguero performed a waist-high lunge on David Luiz towards the end of City's defeat at home to Chelsea, and as this is his second straight red card, he will be suspended for four Premier League games. However, Guardiola has defended him, with quotes in the Star saying, "Sergio’s not an aggressive player. It’s two red cards, seven games, so accept the punishment from the federation. I know what happened in that moment, I know the reason why because I saw the image of what happened with the other player."

Paper Round's view: A manager's job is not to tell the truth or moralise when it comes to such topics. It is to make sure that he defends his player and makes sure that criticism is aimed towards him, and not his squad. So, Guardiola has no option but to downplay the severity of Aguero's tackle, and to make sure no further trouble is caused: accepting the ban and defending his player at the same time is the sensible option.

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Following an excellent showing at the Rio Olympics by the British team, the Guardian reveals that UK Sport has made cuts to several disciplines' funding. Cycling endured a £4.3 million cut, and badminton, archery, fencing, weightlifting and wheelchair rugby will receive no funds from the exchequer and Lottery. Cycling could be hit by further cuts following an investigation into the culture that saw Shane Sutton step down from the team amid accusations of sexism.

Paper Round's view: The funding of sports that have performed well gives the disciplines an obvious incentive to improve performance, and has worked for the overall success of Britain in the last two Olympic Games. In that respect, it is hard to disagree with the practice, even if it results in huge cuts to certain sports. However, just because it has worked in the past, it is hard to see absolutely no funding at all given to some sports as it will prevent them from ever succeeding enough to ever qualify for more money.