Roberto de Zerbi has urged supporters and observers to exercise patience after Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground — a result that handed Spurs their first point of the Premier League season but extended a historic goal drought.

The stalemate followed defeats to Brentford and Newcastle United, leaving Tottenham without a league goal across their opening three fixtures for the first time since the 1974-75 season — more than 50 years ago.

Identity still forming

De Zerbi pointed to the scale of Spurs' summer rebuilding as the reason for the slow start. The club has brought in ten senior players this window, contributing to a spend of over £300 million as part of a record £3.49 billion Premier League outlay this summer.

"We bought very, very good players but you can't just build the team with the names like in Football Manager," De Zerbi told Sky Sports. "We started to work together last Thursday for the first time, for the first day."

Sandro Tonali, Jon Paul Van Hecke, Savio, and Omar Marmoush were among the new faces handed starting roles at the City Ground, yet the side struggled to convert their chances despite largely controlling the contest.

Chances wasted, decisions questioned

Spurs registered 38 shots across their three Premier League matches this season with an expected goals tally of 3.3, yet have failed to find the net once. De Zerbi highlighted a key moment when Marmoush blazed over with Andy Robertson overlapping and Mohammed Kudus waiting at the far post.

"In the last third we have to improve, we have to take better decisions, maybe keep calmer when we are close to doing something important," De Zerbi said. "The chance when Marmoush shot — we had Robertson overlapping, and on the second post there is Kudus to score."

Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy echoed that assessment, telling BBC Sport: "When Spurs did get in really good areas, they just rushed it and shot when they maybe should've passed. They were just missing that little bit of calmness and composure that you expect from top quality players."

Murphy added that chemistry between new teammates takes time: "From a midfielder to a forward perspective, you're not always sure what they're going to do. Whereas if you played with someone for a while, it comes more naturally. So those relationships will build."

Mudryk makes his return

One of the afternoon's notable developments was the Premier League return of Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined Tottenham Hotspur on an initial loan from Chelsea on deadline day. The Ukraine international came off the bench — his first top-flight appearance since a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in November 2024, having served a four-year ban after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium, something he denied knowingly ingesting.

"He needs time and he needs work," De Zerbi said, also noting that Mathys Tel — another player with considerable potential — is still prone to poor decision-making in key moments.

Savio and Destiny Udogie were withdrawn after roughly an hour on medical advice, with De Zerbi confirming their substitutions had been planned before kick-off to manage their fitness following injury lay-offs.

The draw was Tottenham's eighth in the league in 2025, their highest total across a calendar year since 2020. They also failed to register a single shot on target — the first time that has happened in a top-flight match since April 2022. The video assistant referee further frustrated Spurs by ruling out Neco Williams' bundled second-half effort for Nottingham Forest, sparing the visitors what could have been a third consecutive defeat.

De Zerbi remained measured despite the setbacks: "Taking a point in this stadium is not so easy. We are not happy because we didn't win, but this is the right spirit and the right way to move on in this moment."