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"After Tottenham Hotspur stole a march on their rivals to sign Lewis Holtby, Arsenal are keen to win the race for Eintracht Frankfurt's midfielder Sebastian Rode.It was less than 24 hours after Arsene Wenger had admitted Arsenal were monitoring Lewis Holtby when Tottenham Hotspur announced they had agreed a summer move for the German midfielder. In the end, Spurs brought forward the transfer from Schalke with a nominal transfer fee, and Holtby has made a fine start to his career in the white half of North London, leaving Arsenal fans frustrated they couldn't seal a deal for him. Spurs also apparently won the battle between the two clubs for Jan Vertonghen in the summer, and if the rumours are true that Sebastian Rode is a target for both Spurs and Arsenal, the latter will be desperate to ensure they win out this time around. The 22 year German has been superb for Eintracht Frankfurt this season, helping his side to an unexpected top four position in the Bundesliga having only been promoted last season. Rode has also impressed for the German national youth sides, and with only 18 months left on his contract at Frankfurt, looks set for a big summer move. If the two sides are interested in the player, they might face competition from Bayern Munich, who will also have the draw of a newly installed Pep Guardiola in the summer. Spurs might hope that Steffen Freund will help sell them as a destination to Rode, although which of the two London sides manages to secure Champions League football for next season will be a huge factor in any transfer dealings. Transfer battles between Spurs and Arsenal will likely continue to become more frequent, as the two sides compete for Champions League football on similar financial terms. With the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City blowing teams out of the water when they target a player, Spurs and Arsenal are both picking from a smaller pool of available players. With Spurs ahead after picking up Vertonghen and Holtby, Arsenal will be desperate to ensure they do not miss out on Rode to their rivals if they end up facing off over the player. image: &amp;copy; southgeist"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2013/02/15/nh-arsenal-and-tottenham-hotspur-set-to-battle-over-another-tale/>