GRAEME Shinnie knows he will have to nullify the potent threat posed by Stuart Armstrong in central midfield if Aberdeen are to have any hope of pulling off an upset against Celtic and winning the William Hill Scottish Cup final this afternoon.
Armstrong has been one of the form players in the country this season and if he performs as he has both domestically and in Europe, as well as for Scotland on his international debut back in March, his side will be difficult to beat.
The 25-year-old’s resurgence after a difficult season and a half hasn’t come as a great surprise to Shinnie, who first came across him when he was coming through the youth ranks at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
But the rise to prominence of a player who is reportedly interesting several Barclays Premier League clubs in England has also underlined to him how badly the Highland club blundered by letting him go.
“Stuart was at Inverness at the same time as me,” he said. “He was coming through in the U17s when I was in the U19s.
“Caley actually released him because they needed to cut money after being relegated – which was a major mistake on their part. They will be kicking themselves for that.
“You could see back then that he had a lot of potential, but the decision was financial because of what happened. He went to Dundee United and has done really well for himself.
“He took a hit being released at that age but what he’s done since has all been down to him. He’s taken it the other way, joined Dundee United and really drove himself on.
“Stuart has gone from strength to strength this season, I don’t think he played as much as he would have liked under Ronny Deila but he’s had a new lease of life under Brendan Rodgers.”
Shinnie, who has been converted from a left back to a central midfielder since moving to Aberdeen two years ago, feels his side will be able to hold their own against Armstrong, Scott Brown and Callum McGregor.
“It’s always a good battle against Scott Brown, you know what you’re going to get,” he said. “Their midfield has been very strong with him, Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor. They have all had great seasons and McGregor has been unlucky to miss out on the Scotland squad.
“All three of them have done well but I think we have as well. I’ve loved playing in the middle with Kenny McLean and (Ryan) Jacko so it’s going to be a good battle in there.”
“I’m delighted for my team mates (McLean and Mark Reynolds) to get in and it’s a reward for what they’ve done this season. Hopefully one day I will get there.”
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