When Bukayo Saka was ruled out following a nasty hamstring injury towards the back end of 2024, there was collective anguish amongst Arsenal supporters.
Saka is their star boy, a beaming ray of light in an otherwise struggling front line. Struggle, they most certainly did after his injury.
While it allowed Ethan Nwaneri a stage in which to consistently shine, their options on the left-hand side didn’t always deliver.
In 2022/23 Gabriel Martinelli scored as many as 15 goals. In 2023/24, Leandro Trossard found the net on 17 occasions. Yet, the season of 2024/25 was not as kind to the Brazilian and the Belgian, even if the former did score against Real Madrid.
Indeed, across 51 games and 56 games respectively, the pair of wingers only scored ten goals each. It’s safe to say this needed to be better with Saka out and the lack of a recognised centre forward.
So, it is unsurprising to learn that Mikel Arteta wants to strengthen his options on the flank this summer.
How Arsenal could strengthen out wide this summer
One of Arsenal’s priority targets this window appears to be Real Madrid winger Rodrygo with the Brazilian attracting serious interest from Andrea Berta and Co.
New reports over the weekend suggest that everyone at the club is aligned on the fact that the 24-year-old is the ‘ideal profile’ for Arsenal and as a result, they could launch a £59m bid in the coming weeks.
If a move fell through, then the Gunners do have other irons in the fire. One of them could be AC Milan winger Rafael Leao.
That’s according to Caught Offside, who, amid interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester United, suggest that Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested in signing the Portuguese winger this summer.
Berta’s interest is not said to be serious yet but competition for a player valued at around £84m is evidently fierce. Chelsea have reportedly already held talks over a possible swoop.
How Leao compares to Rodrygo
From a goal threat alone, Rodrygo would be a better signing here. After all, in 2022/23, he scored as many as 19 goals, proving he knows what it takes to break down a defence.
Leao, on the other hand, has also been a consistent scorer of goals but is yet to truly explode, so to speak. Coincidentally, the best season of his career also came in 2022/23, where he beat the goalkeeper on 16 occasions.
Since then, the Milan forward’s form has been a little inconsistent, scoring 12 goals and supplying 13 assists this season, but his profile is truly scary, so much so that he reminds some of the great Thierry Henry.
Indeed, back in 2022, Milan coach Stefano Pioli said: “Leao reminds me a lot of the early Thierry Henry, who started wide then came inside.”
Possessing long strides and the ability to beat any defender in world football, Leao so often scampers down the left before cutting onto his favoured right foot and making something happen, just as Henry did when he first came to Arsenal.
It’s that sort of profile that makes him the dream alternative to Rodrygo.
|
Rodrygo vs Leao (2022/23-2024/25) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90 mins) |
Rodrygo |
Leao |
|
Goals |
0.34 |
0.40 |
|
Assists |
0.24 |
0.31 |
|
Shot on target % |
36% |
36% |
|
Key passes |
1.91 |
2.06 |
|
Progressive passes |
3.76 |
4.12 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
4.71 |
4.60 |
|
Succesful take-ons |
2.56 |
2.64 |
|
Progressive carries |
5.63 |
5.20 |
|
Stats via FBref. |
||
If we compare their numbers from the most successful seasons of their career to date to the end of the 2024/25 campaign, you do get a flavour for just how similar their playstyles are.
As far as dribbling and creating opportunities go, there’s not much between them, with Rodrygo coming out slightly on top for progressive carries but Leao the better for progressive passes.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
What does separate them, however, is that Henry-like style.
Standing at 5 foot 9, Rodrygo is the more diminutive of the two players and would be more of an Alexis Sanchez type. Leao, on the other hand, is 6 foot 2. Now, we all know Arteta loves someone of a taller build and thus, the Portugal international feels like a dream profile here.
That extra strength and pace is just what Arsenal need on the left flank.
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