Arsenal winger Theo Walcott and his wife Melanie have spoken out over the distressing ordeal they had to go through during the birth of their son Finley . The couple , speaking to Hello ! magazine , learned their newborn baby had a heart defect shortly after his birth just under a year ago . Walcott 's wife said it was 'the longest two and a half hours of our lives ' during Finley 's operation to correct the problem with his heart . Theo Walcott and his wife Melanie have spoken out about the birth of their son Finley . Melanie and Arsenal star Walcott were left scared and emotional after the birth of Finley on April 10 , 2014 . Melanie said : 'Finley had a routine check and they found a murmur , which , again is normal . But it should go after 24 hours . 'But it did n't and it was discovered he had a valve that was n't working properly . Basically , the heart was having to work really hard to get the blood to his lungs , which meant that the right side of his heart was getting bigger . 'Theo and I were so new to it all , you suddenly feel so vulnerable because it is all taken out of your control . You 've got this little person who is the most precious thing in the world and who you have this overwhelming urge to protect . It was a scary and emotional time . 'It was the longest two and a half hours of our lives but the staff were fantastic . Theo and I just tried to keep strong for each other . ' Finley , who will turn one on April 10 , has made a full recovery since the operation at Royal Brompton hospital in London . Meanwhile , Walcott will be hoping to feature against Manchester United on Monday night as Arsenal look to seal a place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup . Walcott will be hoping to face Man United on Monday night as Arsenal hope to reach FA Cup semi finals .
Theo Walcott 's wife grace gave birth to son Finley on April 10 , 2014 . Finley needed operation in the hospital to correct heart defect . Arsenal star ##ley and his partner felt ' vulnerable ' and ' emotional ' fans would feature against Manchester United in the Cup on Monday . CLICK HERE for all the latest Arsenal news .