Not ideal, obviously, and undoubtedly a worry for Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris.
But Saturday's defeat at Arsenal was nothing like the losses at Brentford and West Ham that had gone before. Play like the Black Cats did at the Emirates on Saturday and they'll prove problematic opponents for most teams in the Premier League. It just so happened that the side they came up against this time around are, in the words of Le Bris, "the best in Europe".
There are times in the Premier League when you just have to hold your hands up and admit and accept you were beaten by a better team. That was why the Brentford and West Ham losses were hard to stomach.
Yes, the Bees are flying and have put a challenging summer behind them in incredibly impressive fashion. But Sunderland still made it easy for them. That was also the case at West Ham, who'd won one in 11 prior to the Black Cats' visit.
But it was telling after Saturday's game that the first thing Mikel Arteta did when he took his seat for his post-match press conference was praise Sunderland.
"It's a really tough opponent," he said.
"They're really good at what they do, really good at breaking play, playing to the last line, breaking your press, holding the ball, and it's very difficult to get sequences with threat and momentum consecutively."
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Arteta was relaxed and happy but he'll have been slightly concerned for the majority of the first half as his side struggled to overcome the physical and organised visitors. The Gunners created a good chance for Kai Havertz after just 24 seconds but didn't manage a shot on target until the 33rd minute. Sunderland were calm and comfortable.
But switch off for an instant against players of such quality and you'll be punished. Omar Alderete was loose with his distribution and Martin Zubimendi was allowed a split second to pick his spot. Still, there are very few players in the Premier League capable of his first time strike that broke the deadlock and set Arsenal on their way.
And there are very few managers in the Premier League who can turn to their bench and call on the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze as substitutes. The former scored twice to seal a win that was comfortable for Arsenal in the end but the scoreline was still harsh on Sunderland.
Nordi Mukiele gave the ball away in the build-up to the second goal, which killed the game. By the time Gyokeres scored his third deep in stoppage time, Sunderland were battling extremely tired legs. But Le Bris shouldn't find it hard to pick his players up.
The mood in the away dressing room at full-time was very different to how it had been at Brentford and West Ham.
"Absolutely. The scoreline might be the same but it wasn't the same game," said Le Bris.
"In this league you have to show resilience. We have another game at home in three days. It's another exciting challenge and we have to try to be at our best."
Sunderland are at their best at home, the only remaining unbeaten side on home turf this season in the top flight, and neither Liverpool or Fulham will be relishing their coming trips to the Stadium of Light.
But for all Saturday's display was spirited and Le Bris won't have to dig deep to find positives, he'll also know his side will have to improve on their travels if they're to qualify for Europe this season.
The fact that's even a point of discussion says everything about how fine a season this has been for the Black Cats. But one of the reasons Sunderland have succeeded this season is because they were unwilling to settle in the summer. Simply surviving was not the aim.
Finishing 10th, 11th or 12th this season would obviously be applauded and would still be an excellent campaign. But Sunderland can qualify for Europe.
To do so, they'll have to put an end to this troubling sequence on their travels, though. It's now no wins in eight, just three goals scored and three points accumulated in that time.
"It's always harder away," said Le Bris.
"The crowd is really useful to generate and sustain momentum. We use it at home which is a big advantage because of the identity of the club and connection with our fans.
"Away we don't have exactly the same support and the opponent has. But overall today is a good step for our progression. It's a defeat, we have to accept that, but we can move forward."