Despite Frank Lampard strongly hinting that he was set to make changes for his side's final game of the season, there was one noticeable absence.
The Everton manager did give opportunities to some players who had been on the fringes for some periods of time. Jarrad Branthwaite, Tom Davies and Dele all started with numerous young talents being given places on the bench.
Loan signing Donny van de Beek was also given what would likely have been his last bow as an Everton player, being brought on as a substitute to score his side's only goal of the game. But, his fellow temporary arrival in the January transfer window was nowhere to be seen.
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Anwar El Ghazi will quietly leave Merseyside having hardly made any sort of impact during his time with the club. In fact, his Arsenal omission was closer to the norm than you might think.
The last time that the winger was involved in a Premier League squad came for the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in April. That was the only match in Everton's last nine league games that the on-loan Aston Villa man was involved in the 20-man selection.
His two appearances for the Blues add up to less than 20 minutes of time on the pitch, when added time in each of the Leeds United and Man City matches in February are added into the equation. For both, he was introduced as a late substitute - with not enough time to have a real impact on the game.
So what went wrong for El Ghazi? Arguably it'd take less effort to list the things that went right for him.
On the hunt for more game-time after falling by the wayside at Aston Villa, the 27-year-old was intrinsically linked with the departure of Lucas Digne heading in the opposite direction. Everton have always been adamant that the two deals were not linked to each other, but them both being completed on the same day certainly didn't help matters.
His arrival came alongside the usual interview with club media, but not from his new manager - which certainly struck as somewhat odd. Rafael Benitez would later address the transfer by admitting: “If there is a player on loan, with quality, that wants to come, who wants to prove himself, then maybe it is a win-win situation. That was the idea.
"I was talking with the player to be sure he was keen to come, and he has the desire to do well for us, and he was quite positive. In the end, hopefully he can improve our squad."
Of course, what also didn't help El Ghazi in the slightest was that he only got about three days to work with the manager who signed him before he was sacked. Benitez left the Blues after a dismal defeat to Norwich City in mid-January, leaving the club hugely in flux and at one of its lowest points in recent history - not necessarily in terms of league position, but general feeling among the fanbase.
That became tough for even the most long-serving players in the squad to deal with, never mind someone who was just attempting to find his feet at a new club. He was coming into a position that Everton had a lot of talent in despite injuries across the squad - with Anthony Gordon, Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend and Richarlison all vying for places at that time.
His position as a loan signing in the squad might have even affected Lampard's transfer plans late in the winter. He only had the opportunity to chase one loan signing rather than two, knowing that the club had bolstered a position which frankly did not seem to be an immediate priority.
All of this put El Ghazi somewhat on the back foot, but he was determined to try and prove himself. Back in February, he told Elf (Eleven) magazine: "I know what it takes to succeed and I relish the challenge. We have a good squad and I want to play my part in bringing the club to the place in the table where it belongs."
Unfortunately, it became too tricky for him to force his way into plans. The arrival of Dele on transfer deadline day, clearly someone Lampard was desperate to work with, meant that even appearances from the bench were more limited than he might have expected.
Everton had a similar situation with Joshua King throughout the 2020/21 season, with his arrival being touted as a solid squad option by many. However, he struggled to force his way into Carlo Ancelotti's plans and ended up frustrated when he left.
The same could well be said for El Ghazi. It's tough to know what assurances he might have been made over his amount of game time when he joined, because there was so much change around the club in the space of the three weeks that immediately followed.
When Everton were at some of their lowest ebbs, the winger couldn't make the required impact to try and turn things around. Whether that be down to a lack of opportunities or a lack of quality, we'll likely never really get the answer to that.
It's just one of numerous questions that will be hanging over this transfer for years to come. The 27-year-old will probably become some sort of quiz answer in the future, one that many might struggle to remember.
Because the last few months really did turn El Ghazi into a forgotten man. Certainly it became the complete opposite to the "win-win" situation Benitez had alluded to back in January.
He won't leave with any sense of animosity from the Everton fanbase or anything untoward in that way, because they simply didn't get the opportunity to connect and relate with him.
In a long line of confusing transfers from the Blues in recent years, this has to go right to the top of the pile. And, let's be honest, that's saying something.
