 On 16 February 2013, Appleton's Blackburn team defeated Premier League team Arsenal in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium.Blackburn's surprising victory over Arsenal, however, was followed by a run of eight games without a win, with Rovers losing an FA Cup quarter-final replay at home to Millwall.On 19 March 2013, after poor results in the Championship, Appleton was relieved of his duties as manager of Blackburn Rovers, having only won 4 of his 15 games in charge.