While this season ended up being an undeniable failure, Arsenal fans shouldn't forget how brilliant some of their players are.
For example, David Raya, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães helped to create the best defence in the Premier League.
Moreover, Declan Rice has gone from strength to strength, and now looks more than at home as the left eight.
bukayo-saka-arsenal-1
And then, despite missing over three months of action, the club's best player, Bukayo Saka, was able to rack up an incredible haul of 12 goals and 14 assists in just 37 games.
The Hale Ender is undoubtedly the team's talisman and most dangerous attacker, so fans should be delighted about reports linking Arsenal to another international star who has won comparisons to the Englishman.
Arsenal's winger search
Given Arsenal's significant reliance on Saka to produce from the right this season, it's not been much of a surprise to seem linked with several talented left-wingers in recent weeks, such as Nico Williams and Leroy Sané.
The former has a well-known release clause worth around £50m in his current contract with Athletic Bilbao, and while that is a lot of money, he did perform reasonably well this season, chalking up a tally of 11 goals and seven assists in 45 games.
Sané, on the other hand, would be a free signing thanks to his contract with Bayern Munich running out this month, although even with his impressive haul of 19 goal involvements this term, the fact he'll be 30 midway next season makes signing him a less appealing prospect.
leroy-sane-arsenal-premier-league
Moreover, it's difficult to imagine him matching Saka's output from the left next year, which isn't the case for Rodrygo.
Yes, according to a recent report from The Athletic's Real Madrid correspondent, Mario Cortegana, Arsenal are one of a few clubs intensely interested in the Brazilian international.
In fact, he claims that Arteta is "convinced he would have a big role" in the team, although on top of convincing the player, reports from earlier this month claim that the Gunners would have to stump up around £84m to get their man.
It could be a costly and complicated transfer to get over the line, but given Rodrygo's immense ability, it is one worth fighting for, especially as he's won comparisons to Saka.
How Rodrygo compares to Saka
So then, before we take a look at some of the other reasons why Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign Rodrygo this summer, it's important to examine this comparison to Saka and where it has come from.
Other Rodrygo
Well, in this case, it stems from FBref, which looked at players in similar positions in the Champions League this season and then created a list of the ten most comparable players.
By doing this, it concluded that the Real Madrid star was the tenth most similar attacking midfielder or winger and the third most similar midfielder to the Arsenal star in the competition this season.
Rodrygo & Saka
Statistic per 90
Assists
Progressive Passes Received
Shots
Crosses into the Penalty Area
Shot-Creating Actions
Successful Take-Ons
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 UCL Season
The best way to see how this is worked out is by taking a look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including but not limited to assists, progressive passes received, shots, crosses into the penalty area, shot-creating actions and more, all per 90.
However, while a comparison to someone incredibly talented as Saka is undoubtedly encouraging, there are other reasons Arteta and Co should sign Real's "world-class superstar," as dubbed by former teammate Luka Modrić.
The most important is that he'd be a reliable source of goals, as, since the start of the 23/24 campaign, the former Santos gem has managed to score 32 goals and provide 19 assists in 103 appearances, totalling 7,137 minutes - even though he has spent much of that time out on the right when he'd rather be off the left.
In other words, he's maintained an average of a goal involvement every 2.01 games, or every 139.94, for two years.
rodrygo-real-madrid-chelsea-premier-league
Ultimately, he will cost a lot of money, and it might be a difficult transfer to pull off, but due to his brilliant record and the fact he shares some key statistical similarities with Saka, Arsenal should do all they can to sign Rodrygo this summer.
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