LIVERPOOL'S wait for a first Premier League win of the season goes on after they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at Anfield.

Goals in either half from Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla ensured Brendan Rodgers' side will go into the international break on a low with just one point from their opening three games of the campaign.

Once again Liverpool paid the price for their lack of a ruthless streak in the final third coupled with defensive frailties and the Gunners took full advantage.

It was a performance which will merely reinforce the feelings of anger and disbelief felt among supporters by the club's failure to sign a striker on transfer deadline day.

The owners' refusal to stump up the cash for Clint Dempsey following the departure of Andy Carroll on loan to West Ham left Rodgers with only two senior frontmen in Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini until January.

Both Suarez and Borini were guilty of missing Liverpool's best chances and with no other firepower on the bench Rodgers' hands were tied.

There was applause before kick-off for Bill Shankly on what would have been the Anfield great's 99th birthday.

Rodgers made three changes from the Liverpool side which drew 2-2 with Manchester City a week earlier.

With Lucas Leiva ruled out for up to three months with a thigh injury, Rodgers handed a debut to loan signing from Real Madrid Nuri Sahin.

Daniel Agger returned from suspension at the expense of Jamie Carragher, while Jose Enrique was preferred to Martin Kelly at full-back.

Teenage winger Raheem Sterling kept his place in the side following his hugely impressive first Premier League start against the champions.

Liverpool started brightly with Borini dragging a shot wide from 25 yards before Per Mertesacker was booked for cynically hauling down Suarez after being left trailing by the Uruguayan. Suarez curled the subsequent free-kick over the bar.

Sterling was lively once again as he caused Carl Jenkinson plenty of problems. The youngster linked up well with Suarez to create an opening for Borini but the Italian failed to hit the target from the edge of the box.

Daniel Agger should have done better with a header from Steven Gerrard's corner and then Suarez headed over from Enrique's cross.

In the 26th minute Mikel Arteta got a yellow card for chopping down Sterling but Gerrard's 25-yard free-kick struck the wall.

Quality in the final third had been in desperately short supply but just past the half hour mark Liverpool were left stunned as Arsenal broke the deadlock.

Gerrard's poor pass allowed the visitors to counter and Santi Cazorla picked out Podolski, who got away from Glen Johnson and clinically dispatched a shot past Pepe Reina.

The Reds responded to that setback and almost levelled. Arsenal failed to deal with Borini's high ball back across goal and Gerrard nodded it into the path of Sterling. The winger turned neatly and his strike hit the outside of the post.

There were howls for a penalty soon after when Sterling went down in the box but Mertesacker's challenge was deemed fair by referee Howard Webb.

The Gunners had rarely threatened as an attacking force but they should have made it 2-0 before the break.

Abou Diaby was allowed to run unchallenged from halfway and find Olivier Giroud who with only Reina to beat blazed wide.

Early in the second half Suarez went down after being shoved by Mertesacker as he tried to connect with Gerrard's cross but Webb once again waved away appeals for a spot-kick.

The ineffective Borini was replaced by Stewart Downing on 55 minutes and the Reds stepped up the pressure.

Suarez's strike was tipped over by Vito Mannone before Downing cut inside off the right and saw his effort deflected behind for a corner.

Midway through the second half Sahin made way for Jonjo Shelvey but hopes of a fightback were dashed in the 68th minute.

Liverpool were cut open far too easily as Cazorla exchanged passes with Podolski. The Spanish midfielder still had plenty to do from an acute angle but his shot somehow went under Reina and into the net.

It was another costly error from Reina following his blunder at the same end against Hearts on Thursday night.

The belief ebbed away and in the final 20 minutes only some poor finishing from Arsenal saved Liverpool from falling further behind.

The hosts should have reduced the deficit right at the death but Suarez fired over and Mannone kept out Shelvey's piledriver.

By the time Webb finally put Liverpool out of their misery, thousands of Reds fans had long since headed for the exits.