Sandman is merely doing what he does, create discussions through doubts about translations of specific terms.
this already answers anything people need to know
And this complements the whole notion
"shoulder to shoulder" can mean "in the same league/rank" (like Shanks and Buggy both being considered Younkous, technically speaking it's simply a fact tied to their fame due to their current Younko rank) or in the same ballpark as combatants (like Shanks being able to be shoulder to shoulder with Mihawk in the past, or Oden being shoulder to shoulder with the most infamous pirates)
In the Roger Pirates case it gets more obvious that it's all about their strength, because none of them share the same rank/role. Roger is the Captain, Rayleigh is the Right Arm and Gaban is the Left Arm, these are 3 different spots. Rayleigh and Gaban complement each others roles which is support Roger the best they can, but nothing implies that there is an arm stronger than the other.
this already answers anything people need to know
![](https://i.imgur.com/mZGOMdC.png)
And this complements the whole notion
![](https://i.imgur.com/sn5DIpM.png)
"shoulder to shoulder" can mean "in the same league/rank" (like Shanks and Buggy both being considered Younkous, technically speaking it's simply a fact tied to their fame due to their current Younko rank) or in the same ballpark as combatants (like Shanks being able to be shoulder to shoulder with Mihawk in the past, or Oden being shoulder to shoulder with the most infamous pirates)
In the Roger Pirates case it gets more obvious that it's all about their strength, because none of them share the same rank/role. Roger is the Captain, Rayleigh is the Right Arm and Gaban is the Left Arm, these are 3 different spots. Rayleigh and Gaban complement each others roles which is support Roger the best they can, but nothing implies that there is an arm stronger than the other.