Paid one back for the article (4)
I believe the answer is:
item
'the article' is the definition.
(both can mean an object or thing)
'paid one back' is the wordplay.
'paid' becomes 'met' (I've seen this in other clues).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'back' says the letters should be written in reverse.
'met'+'i'='meti'
'meti' in reverse letter order is 'ITEM'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for item that I've seen before include "Something on list" , "One unit on a list" , "Individual article or unit" , "One article" , "Separate object or unit" .)