The Dons manager is ready to adopt Mikel Arteta's approach when it comes to appointing a club captain
18:00, 30 Jun 2026
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Stephen Robinson and Graeme Shinnie
Stephen Robinson has admitted he is likely to take the Arsenal approach and have four or five Aberdeen captains.
The Dons have been left with a massive void to fill after skipper Graeme Shinnie turned down a new contract and decided to return to Inverness for the new season.
Shinnie was able to take on the job, but Robinson will instead create a leadership group to shoulder that strain.
English champions Arsenal have done something similar.
Martin Odegaard is the captain but underneath him he has Declan Rice, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino.
Robinson acknowledged: “Graeme Shinnie was quite unique in that he was able to fulfil all the facets of being a captain.
“He could run the dressing-room. He could pass on the tactical messages on the pitch and he did a lot off the pitch for the football club as well.
“You don’t often get that and I don’t believe one single person should be lumbered with it on their own.
“So we’ll have a group of four or five people who run the boys and over time, once we have had a good look at everyone, we’ll appoint a club captain.
“But behind him there will be four or five people supporting - that’s running the dressing-room, carrying out the information on the pitch, looking after players off the pitch and doing stuff to help the club.
“That’s a job for more than one person. Arsenal do it, they have four or five who represent all aspects of the club.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates with the Premier League trophy
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates with the Premier League trophy (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
The Aberdeen manager is currently putting his team through their paces in their training camp in the Netherlands.
They will round off their camp with a friendly against FC Twente on Saturday. He has still to make a decision as to who will take the armband.
Vice-captain Nicky Devlin and new signing Brad Lyons wore it in their first pre-season game against Cove Rangers, while Kevin Nisbet also had it at the end of last campaign.
Mats Knoester could also come into the equation, while Kristers Tobers, the Latvian national captain, is also returning to full fitness.
Robinson claimed: “Society has changed now, the days of a captain shouting and screaming, kicking doors down to get their point across are long gone.
“We have to move with the times and having a group overseeing the dressing-room is the best way to do that.”
Lyon was captain at Kilmarnock before his summer move north. Robinson also believes his fellow Northern Irishman will give Aberdeen some much-needed steel and dig in the middle of the park.
“Brad will bring a vast amount of experience from his time at Kilmarnock and also as a Northern Ireland international,” Robinson stated.
“He’s a very underrated player, he does the dirty bit of the game very well - winning headers and winning tackles.
“He’s a strong, strong boy and when I looked at our midfield last season I felt we missed that.
“We didn’t have enough physicality in the middle of the pitch, we got pushed around way too much so that’s something we needed to address.
“Brad doesn’t get enough credit for his technical ability, he will give us real forward running power. He’s a leader so will give us a big help on that side of things.”
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Brad Lyons in action for Aberdeen(Image: SNS Group)
The Pittodrie recruitment drive was to bring more steel and physicality into their ranks. They have done that with the signings of Lyons, Alexander Briedl, Dan Happe, Toyosi Olusanya, Ayoub Mouloua, Connor Ronan, Tony Yogane and Lewis Mayo.
Mayo has joined Lyons in making the move from Killie. Robinson believes the defender will bring pace to the Dons’ backline.
He admitted: “Lewis has a lot of potential, he is still young for a centre half and adds versatility to the squad. He brings something we didn’t have enough of at the back last season which is pace. He is very, very quick.”
There are still likely to be summer departures.
Record Sport revealed how Elfsborg are in talks over a deal for Alexander Jensen and Debrecen want Topi Keskinen.
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