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Stuart Armstrong

Armstrong playing for Celtic in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Stuart Armstrong
Date of birth	(1992-03-30) 30 March 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Inverness, Scotland
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Southampton
Number	17
Youth career
2003–2008	Dyce Boys Club
2008–2009	Inverness Caledonian Thistle
2009–2010	Dundee United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2015	Dundee United	126	(18)
2015–2018	Celtic	98	(23)
2018–	Southampton	9	(2)
International career
2010–2011	Scotland U19	7	(2)
2010–2014	Scotland U21	20	(4)
2017–	Scotland	11	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:17, 28 November 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:42, 24 November 2018 (UTC)

Stuart Armstrong (born 30 March 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Southampton and the Scotland national team.

Armstrong began his career with Dundee United, making his debut in 2010 and going on to make almost 150 appearances. Armstrong moved to Celtic in February 2015, and helped them win four Scottish league championships and consecutive domestic trebles. He then moved to Premier League club Southampton in June 2018.

Armstrong represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 level, then made his full international debut in 2017. He was voted as the SFWA Young Player of the Year in 2013 and has been named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for the Scottish Premiership three times. He was also nominated twice for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year.

Early life

Born in Inverness, Armstrong attended Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, alongside fellow footballer Fraser Fyvie. Armstrong grew up idolizing Gianfranco Zola.

Club career

Early career

Armstrong played for Dyce Boys Club and the Inverness Caledonian Thistle youth team, before signing professionally with Dundee United in July 2009.

Dundee United

2010–11

Armstrong made his first team debut for Dundee United in November 2010, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Hamilton Academical. Two months later, on 12 January 2011, he provided his first assist, crossing for David Goodwillie to score as his side won 2–0 against Motherwell. Throughout the rest of the season, Armstrong was in and out of the team, making twelve appearance. Manager Peter Houston praised Armstrong on his substitute role.

2011–12

The next season, Armstrong swapped between starting and coming off the bench as an impact sub. In a match against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, on 10 December 2011, he provided a double assist, in the second-half, to make a comeback win, which his side won 3–2. Armstrong then scored his first goal for United in a 2–2 draw against St Mirren in December 2011. After the match, Armstrong says scoring his first goal was his first proper strike, having scored but it was deflected against Inverness.

2012–13

The next season, Armstrong made his European debut in the Europa League third qualifying round, second leg, which ended in a 5–0 loss against Russian side Dynamo Moscow. After making six appearance this season, Armstrong agreed a three-year contract with Dundee United in September 2012. Armstrong signed a new contract with United in October 2012. Armstrong scored his first goal of the season on 24 November, in a 2–1 win over Ross County. In mid-December, Armstong provided two assists in consecutive matches against Dundee and Inverness. Having made six appearances in February, Armstrong was awarded Clydesdale Bank Premier League Young Player of the Month. Armstrong was nominated for SPFA young player of the year, but it was awarded to Hibernian's Leigh Griffiths. He did, however, go on to win the SFWA Young Player of the Year award.

2013–14

In the 2013–14 season, Armstrong started his season well, scoring goals against Hibernian and St Johnstone. Armstrong and Dundee United began negotiations over a new contract and on 12 December, he signed a one-year contract extension. Armstrong expressed an ambition to play in England in the future, but said he was happy to wait until he had established himself in the first team. In the January 2014 transfer window, the Daily Mail reported that Celtic were considering making a move for Armstrong, and that they were also interested in some of the club's other youngsters. This was later dismissed as "speculation" by Celtic manager Neil Lennon. In April 2014, he was nominated for the 2013–14 PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award. He was also selected to the 2013–14 Premiership PFA Scotland Team of the Year.

2014–15

Armstrong scored once and claimed two assists in November 2014 in wins over Kilmarnock and Motherwell. Armstrong scored twice more in league victories in December 2014 against Ross County and Celtic. He also registered assists in back-to-back matches in December 2014, in the defeat of Celtic and then the league defeat to St Johnstone In January 2015, Armstrong claimed a further two league goals and three assists in victories against Dundee and Hamilton Accies and another league goal in a draw with St Mirren. His last match for Dundee United came in a New Firm derby defeat of Aberdeen in a 2014–15 Scottish League Cup semi-final on 31 January 2015. Armstrong made 150 appearances, starting 109 matches, and scored 22 goals in all competitions for Dundee United before joining Celtic.

Celtic

2014–15

In January 2015, Dundee United turned down two transfer offers from Celtic for Armstrong, however the transfer was completed on 2 February 2015, alongside fellow Dundee United player Gary Mackay-Steven. Armstrong denied requesting the transfer. Both players would be ineligible for the remaining Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup ties as Celtic chased a domestic treble. Armstrong and Mackay-Steven were later given the nickname Zig and Zag by the staff at Celtic.

Armstrong scored on his Celtic debut in a 3–0 league victory at Partick Thistle on 11 February 2015. He gave Celtic a 2–0 lead after fellow debutante Gary Mackay-Steven opened the scoring. Armstrong made his Celtic Park and European debut in a 3–3 draw with Inter Milan in the UEFA Europa League on 19 February 2015.

2015–16

Armstrong made his first appearance of the 2015–16 season, in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round first leg tie against Stjarnan, assisting the second goal in a 2–0 home win. He scored his first goals of the season with a second-half brace, in a 4–2 league win against Inverness CT on 15 August. He claimed assists in back-to-back matches in January, in wins against Dundee United and Hamilton, the latter result was an 8–1 home victory, the biggest recorded league win since the formation of the Scottish Premiership in 2013. His next goal came in a 3–1 league defeat of St Johnstone four days later.

2016–17

Armstrong enjoyed a productive 2016–17 season, scoring 17 goals in all competitions as Celtic won a domestic treble.

2017–18

Celtic won a second successive domestic treble in 2017–18, but Armstrong's season was interrupted by injuries. In June 2018, Celtic agreed a £7 million transfer fee for Armstrong with Premier League club Southampton.

Southampton

Armstrong signed a four-year contract with Southampton in June 2018. He said he wanted to "hit the ground running" at the club. In November 2018 he stated that he did not miss Scottish football.

International career

Armstrong represented Scotland at under-19 and under-21 levels. On 21 May 2013, Armstrong was called up for the senior team, along with his Dundee United teammate Gary Mackay-Steven. He was called up again by the national team in August 2015, and again in March 2017. Armstrong made his full international debut on 26 March 2017, in a 1–0 win against Slovenia. National team manager Gordon Strachan called it "the best Scotland debut I have ever seen." In September 2017 he was ruled out of two 2018 World Cup qualifying games through injury.

Personal life

In 2014, Armstrong was studying for a law degree through the Open University in his spare time.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 27 November 2018

1. Includes Scottish Cup
2. Includes Scottish League Cup and EFL Cup
3. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, five in UEFA Europa League
5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 20 November 2018

International goals

As of match played 20 November 2018. Scotland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Armstrong goal.

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	1 September 2017	LFF Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	3	Lithuania	1–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Celtic

• Scottish Premiership: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Scottish League Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18
• Scottish Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18

Individual

• Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month: February 2013
• ArabTRUST's September 2012 Player of the Month award: October 2012
• SFWA Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
• PFA Scotland Team of the Year (Scottish Premiership): 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17

References

1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
2. "Stuart Armstrong: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
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4. ^ "Arabs youngster Stuart Armstrong in no rush to seek dream move to English top-flight". Daily Record. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
5. "Stuart Armstrong Dundee United Profile". Dundee United Official Website. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. "Stuart Armstrong: Southampton to Celtic cash share leaves boys club in 'shock'". BBC Sport. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
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11. "Dundee United extend contracts for Armstrong and Watson". BBC Sport. 24 September 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
12. "Dundee United boss Peter Houston tips Stuart Armstrong to be next big thing". Daily Record. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
13. "Dundee United goal hero Stuart Armstrong apologises to Jon Daly for nicking winner". Daily Record. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
14. "Peter Houston salutes Dundee United's spirit after 2–1 win over Ross County". Sky Sports. 25 November 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
15. ^ "Stuart Armstrong and Derek Adams collect February SPL awards". Daily Record. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
16. "Griffiths, Higdon, Shinnie & McGinn on SPFA shortlist". BBC Sport. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
17. "Motherwell striker Michael Higdon lands PFA Scotland Player of the Year award". Daily Record. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
18. ^ "Young Player of the Year Stuart Armstrong looks push on at Tannadice". Daily Record. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
19. "Hibernian 1 Dundee United 1: Honours even but greater degree of relief for hosts as they learn to hustle". The Herald. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
20. "Dundee Utd 4–0 St Johnstone". BBC Sport. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
21. "Dundee United aim to tie up key trio on extended contracts". BBC Sport. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
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25. "Georgios Samaras: Neil Lennon not giving up on Celtic striker". BBC Sport. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
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32. "St Johnstone 2–1 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
33. "Dundee United 6–2 Dundee". BBC Sport. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
34. "Hamilton Accies 2–3 Dundee United". BBC Sport. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
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36. ^ "Celtic sign Stuart Armstrong & Gary Mackay-Steven". The Scotsman. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
37. Stuart Armstrong profile Arab Arachive. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
38. Jim Spence (29 January 2015). "Stuart Armstrong: Dundee United reject Celtic and Burnley bids". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
39. ^ Spence, Jim (2 February 2015). "Stuart Armstrong & Gary Mackay-Steven join Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
40. Lamont, Alasdair (3 February 2015). "Celtic: Stuart Armstrong denies Dundee United exit request". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
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62. "Celtic's Stuart Armstrong given Scotland call-up". BBC Sport.
63. "Scotland: Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Fraser & Tom Cairney called up". BBC Sport. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
64. "Scotland 1–0 Slovenia". BBC Sport. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
65. "Scotland 1–0 Slovenia: Gordon Strachan hails match-winner Chris Martin". BBC Sport. 26 March 2017.
66. "Dundee United's Stuart Armstrong favours law course over golf course". The Courier. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
67. "Dundee United's Stuart Armstrong reveals he's studying for a law degree to stave off boredom". Daily Record. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
68. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
69. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
70. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
71. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
72. ^ "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
73. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
74. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
75. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
76. "Games played by Stuart Armstrong in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
77. ^ "Armstrong, Stuart". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
78. English, Tom (1 September 2018). "Lithuania 0–3 Scotlad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
79. Stuart Armstrong at Soccerway
80. "Motherwell 0–2 Celtic". BBC Sport. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
81. "Armstrong presented with Player of the Month gong". Arab Trust. 20 October 2012. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
82. "PFA SCOTLAND TEAMS OF THE YEAR 2017". PFA Scotland. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

External links

• Profile at the Southampton F.C. website
• Stuart Armstrong at the Scottish Football Association
• Stuart Armstrong at Soccerbase

• 1992 births
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Inverness
• Scottish footballers
• Scotland youth international footballers
• Scotland under-21 international footballers
• Scotland international footballers
• Association football midfielders
• Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players
• Dundee United F.C. players
• Celtic F.C. players
• Southampton F.C. players
• Scottish Premier League players
• Scottish Professional Football League players
• Premier League players
• People educated at Hazlehead Academy