Arsenal and Tottenham set for £8m battle over Ipswich striker Connor Wickham

Arsenal are ready to take on bitter rivals Tottenham in a bidding war for rising Ipswich star Connor Wickham.Centre of a tug-of-war: Connor Wickham is wanted by Arsenal and SpursSpurs, who have already had a £5million offer rejected, have upped their bid to £8m and are willing to loan the prodigious 17-year-old back to the Tractor Boys next season.But Gunners' boss Arsene Wenger is also a big fan of Wickham, whose goals saw England crowned European Under 17 champions in May.Wickham netted both goals in the semi-final win over France and then the winner against Spain in the final, following up his three goals in four games for Ipswich the previous month.Wenger is desperate to add firepower to his attack and does not want to lose out on Wickham, especially to Spurs.Hard-up Ipswich, whose latest accounts will reveal a debt close to £50m, are under pressure to sell.They have not made any signings this summer and boss Roy Keane has transfer-listed eight senior stars in an attempt to raise much-needed funds.But he knows that only by cashing in on Wickham will he be able to target the reinforcements required to turn the Tractor Boys into promotion challengers. Arsenal legend Henry joins New York Red Bulls in time to face TottenhamLennon: McGeady aims to leave Celtic, as Birmingham, Villa and Spurs circlePREMIER LEAGUE PRE-SEASON: Every club's summer fixture plansClub-by-club Premier League guide to every transfer deal in summer 2010TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC

Source: Daily_Mail