@MeadowD and @Mind-Brain :
Just some additional info about attaching stuff in 2D. Since you are using Sprites and Flipbooks, you can attach sockets to your Sprites, then you can place and rotate them freely on your sprites, whereever you want (even in front or behind your character sprite), and if you make a flipbook, those sockets get carried over and still exist in the flipbook and are accessible.
So you can attach whatever you want to carry to those sprite sockets.
Those two arrow animations wwer done via socket position and rotation changes on each sprite of their flipbook. Sprites for walking right got their sockets moved up and down, left got some rotation.
I admit, the left arrow animation is a little bit… unlucky ^.^