The loss of Cristian Romero to a potentially season-ending injury may have exposed Tottenham Hotspur's ongoing defensive woes, yet the bigger concern facing new boss Roberto De Zerbi will likely be the stark shortcomings in the forward line.
Not since the creditable comeback draw against Manchester City back in early February have the Lilywhites scored more than one goal in a Premier League game, having now failed to score at all in each of their last two.
No player has even reached double figures for league goals, while only Richarlison (nine) has got above four, a stark decline from the days of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son proving so consistently prolific in north London.
The make-up of the current attacking options appears akin to those days prior to Kane in his pomp, particularly during that turbulent 2013/14 campaign.
Spurs' forward line looks like it did back in 2013/14
Tottenham may not have faced the threat of relegation in that chaotic post-Gareth Bale campaign, although it did see Tim Sherwood appointed in December 2013 to try and steady the ship, amid the aim of leading the club back into the Champions League.
Despite his memorable 59% win ratio, Sherwood was dismissed at the end of the season with the north London side in sixth, sparking the start of a fruitful period under Mauricio Pochettino.
The make-up of the squad that the Englishman inherited certainly has similarities to the current crop, with a stark lack of options on the flanks, excluding Aaron Lennon and the injury-hit Erik Lamela, alongside an underwhelming batch of strikers.
The aforementioned Kane, just a rising, relatively unknown talent at the time, only scored three times in the back end of the season, while marquee signing, Roberto Soldado, scored only six Premier League goals himself that year.
Surprisingly, the main goal threat following Sherwood's arrival came in the form of Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togo international returning from injury to score 11 league goals between December and May, the brightest spark of that interim tenure.
To say that type of form was the norm for the polarising forward would be incorrect, however, with the well-travelled marksman arriving with a big reputation, yet flattering to deceive during much of his time at N17.
Sound familiar?
De Zerbi needs to upgrade on the new Adebayor at Spurs
Like in 2013/14, where Spurs finished sixth despite scoring only 55 times, goals have been scarce in the current campaign, with Micky van de Ven and Romero the second-highest scorers in the league with four apiece.
Richarlison, as stated, is the man in Adebayor-style form with nine goals, yet a better comparison to the former Arsenal and Manchester City man might well be Dominic Solanke, the 28-year-old not delivering as expected following his club-record arrival.
In Adebayor's case, a fruitful loan spell in 2011/12 - which yielded 17 league goals - was followed by just a further 18 top-flight goals over the next three seasons, never managing to enjoy any sort of consistency, both in terms of finishing and fitness.
Even in that year under Sherwood, the now-retired striker had missed the first chunk of the campaign due to injury, making only a solitary appearance before late December.
Quality on his day, yet that day didn't come often enough, very much the case with regard to Solanke's time at Tottenham so far.
For many, including Sherwood and fellow former Spurs man, Jamie O'Hara, he looked like a "great signing" at the time, fresh off the back of scoring 19 Premier League goals at Bournemouth.
Like Adebayor, he had that benefit of being 'Premier League-proven', albeit with there perhaps the concern over his failed spells previously at other elite top-flight clubs, making just 28 appearances combined at Liverpool and Chelsea.
In Adebayor's case, he too had seen his time at the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Real Madrid proved short-lived, even while recording a respectable record for each of those clubs, having never been able to find a settled home for one reason or another.
In 113 games in total for Spurrs, the now 42-year-old scored just 42 times, with Solanke on course to achieve a similar record considering his current trajectory, with just 22 goals in 62 games to date.
After an injury-hit 2025/26, he is available again, although Sunday's trip to Sunderland represented a poor outing for the ex-Cherries star, with O'Hara brutally suggesting that it "looks like he's forgotten how to play football".
Expected to be the main attacking force under De Zerbi, Solanke was outshone by Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani on the flanks, registering just 18 touches at the Stadium of Light.
As writer Zach Lowy noted at the weekend, Solanke is "the biggest proof that signing 'Premier League-proven players' isn’t a guarantee of success", as the turbulent tale of Adebayor also showcased.