Vie with Arabs: could be rough (8)
I believe the answer is:
abrasive
'rough' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'vie with arabs could be' is the wordplay.
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'could be' indicates anagramming the letters.
'vie' after 'arabs' is 'arabsvie'.
'arabsvie' anagrammed gives 'ABRASIVE'.
(Other definitions for abrasive that I've seen before include "Rough, grating" , "Overly aggressive" , "Rough and scratchy" , "Causing irritation" , "Harsh - scratchy" .)